The “Ceramic Festival of Vietnam – Binh Duong in 2010″ is underway at Go Dau Stadium in Thu Dau Mot Town in Binh Duong Province till September 8.

The festival has 600 booths of ceramics and fine arts from about 70 enterprises around the country. Twenty one traditional ceramics and pottery villages which have been making ceramics for hundreds of years are also represented. The villages include Bat Trang in Hanoi, Phu Lang in Bac Ninh, Chu Dau in Hai Duong, Phuoc Tich in Thua Thien-Hue, Thanh Ha in Quang Nam, Hoa Vinh in Phu Yen, Bau Truc in Ninh Thuan, Bien Hoa in Dong Nai, Lai Thieu in Binh Duong and Mang Thit in Vinh Long.

Ceramic makers are promoting their products to local and foreign customers at the festival, while discussing the balance between traditional pottery making and using modern technology.

At the festival, there will be a ceramic making contest, seminar and exhibitions on ceramics.

Seven pottery works have been registered for Vietnamese records, of which three works by Minh Long 1 Company including Cup Hon Viet (Vietnamese soul’s cup), Chen Ngoc Van Lang (Van Lang pearl bowl) and Cup Sen Vang (Golden Lotus Cup), the work Quoc Binh Thang Long (Thang Long peaceful nation) by Cuong Phat Company, Lu Thien Dia (Jar of heaven and earth) by Thanh Trung pottery firm, Den Gom (Pottery lamp) by Thuong Nguyen pottery company and Dia Cau (Globe) by Tan Toan Phat Company. All works are made by traditional methods.

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Poly-terrazzo is a combination of polyester resin and small stones. So that only the following colors: black-black, black-white, white-white and brown-black.

Lightweight terrazzo pots used to produce planters only 1 wall. Poly-heavy polystone terrazzo. But very light compared with traditional products such as ceramic and Ximeng, simultaneously rigid and durable. Lightweight terrazzo pots may be waterproof, but subject to freezing very low impact.

Lightweight Terrazzo Pots are now available in black and white. All modern styles with perfect geometric symmetry and sharp lines. Pots are polished and sealed for maximum durability and strength.

Especially, Our lightweight terrazzo is a natural product that has the same components as normal terrazzo. It is made with finely grounded granite, held together by high quality light-weight cement. The paint is based on water. Inside the terrazzo planter there is a very small polynet for increasing a better stability of the planters. This can be easily removed and recycled.

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A really authentic looking terracotta like pots made from high density foam. These lightweight containers are durable, frostproof and plants really like them. The foam acts as an insulator so keeps the roots cool in summer and warm in winter. Up to 90% lighter than traditional terracotta pots

Unlike terracotta they do not absorb water so less watering required. Also, this makes them more robust against frost.

Some above decorating with Lightweight terracotta pots that make your hourse become more beutiful

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VGP - Bát Tràng, a small village in the north of Việt Nam, is about 13 kilometers southeast of Hà Nội center, on the other side of the Red River. The village is famous for ceramic and pottery products of high quality.

If you have known about Việt Nam, you may not be surprised that Bát Tràng’s vases, bowls, dishes, and many other kinds of ceramic products have been exported worldwide.
Bát Tràng Village is said to be established in the 14th or 15th century in several documents.

However, according to the villagers, the village perhaps appeared earlier. There are always two stories concerning the village’s origin. One of these tells that under Lý Dynasty, in 1100, when the nation was in its independence and initial growth period, there were three scholars who came back from their mission trip to China bringing the ceramic craft industry learned there back to Việt Nam and taught the people of Bát Tràng.

In the other story, the village history dates back to the 10th century, when King Lý Công Uẩn relocated the capital in Thăng Long. With the establishment and development of the capital, many businessmen, crafters from many areas come to settle down here to work and trade. In Bát Tràng, there was a lot of white clay, so that many potters……….

Accordingly, Bát Tràng has gradually changed from a normal ceramic and pottery village into a famous ceramic and pottery center until now.

As time went by, the village’s products have become well known for their best quality, style and glaze, both inside and outside of the nation. Many of these are now customized for aristocratic families and religious needs. Their popular foreign markets are Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, Portugal, and Southeast Asia, etc.

To produce a complete product, one must follow three steps. The first step is making the product body. The artists select the suitable clay, treat it and start making a raw product. It must be repaired to get the best appearance. Secondly, they decorate and cover it with glazes. Last but not least, the raw products are baked in three days and three nights. There are several kinds of kilns, yet the temperature must be at 12000 or 13000. After baking, products are brought out, classified and repaired in case there are mistakes. And now we have perfect products.

Bát Tràng products are divided into three kinds based on the purposes of use such as utilitarian wares, cult wares and decorative objects.
Thanks to a long–lasting history and development, the village’s works have been accumulated with a lot of different special designs. One more thing that makes them distinguished is the glaze, which is of high quality and a variety of colors, such as blue, brown, white, moss green, in both breaking and melting glazes.

In fact, there have appeared a number of competitors both domestically and internationally who take advantages of high technology.

Yet most customers prefer the craft products that contain historical and traditional values. Hence, it is no surprise at all that Bát Tràng is still found in busy days and works. More importantly, the village is now so popular that it absorbs a huge annual number of tourists to visit and buy ceramic goods./.

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The special exhibition of "Thousand years of Vietnamese ceramics” introduces over 250 artefacts of the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, the Museun of Vietnamese History in Ho Chi Minh City, Fine Art Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, Southern Women Museum and some individial collectors. The special exhibition is open from August 28th to December 28th 2010 at the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City.

Over 10 centuries, Vietnam ceramics has become famous all over the world with pottery villages identifiable on the world map of ceramics such as Chu Dau, Bat Trang, Tho Ha, Phu Lang, Bien Hoa, Lai Thieu... At each stage, Vietnamese ceramics has developed with its own characteristics: celadon-glazed ceramics of the Ly dynasty, brown-flowered ceramics of the Tran dynasty and blue-flowered ceramics of the Le Dynasty. But there was a skillful combination between art and technology to create the special mark of identity. Due to the harmonious combination of the soil, water, fire and the spirit of Vietnamese has created many marvelous ceramic products which present in major museums around the world. Vietnamese ceramics has overcome space and time to become a precious cultural heritage of Vietnam and the World.

The 10th century marked a turning point in history: the period of independence after more than 10 centuries of Northern feudal domination. Especially when Dai La was chosen to establish the capital and renamed Thang Long in 1010, the Ly dynasty started a period of the economic and cultural development of the National history.

During the renaissance period of the National culture, Vietnamese ceramics Ly-Tran (century 11-14) have achieved brilliant accomplishments both technical and artistic decoration on all kinds of ivory-glazed ceramics, blue-glazed ceramics to celadon-glazed ceramics, brown-glazed ceramics with the natural patterns, close to the rustic life of Vietnamese.

15th – 18th centuries, the North Vietnamese ceramics were produced not only for domestic demand, which along with ceramics of Go Sanh (Central) were the popular exports in many countries in East and Southeast Asia, Egypt as well. Multi-colour glazed ceramics, blue glazed ceramics and ceramic drawn colors on its glaze ... especially blue-flowered ceramics with many categories levelled of fine art and high technology have been used very commonly in many countries in Southeast Asia .

From 19th century until the early 20th century, Vietnamese ceramics were no longer prevalent in the development stage. However the traditional pottery village continued to be maintained: Bat Trang (Hanoi), Phu Lang (Bac Ninh), Tho Ha (Bac Giang) ... in the Northern Region; Phuoc Tich (Thua Thien-Hue), Quang Duc (Quang Ngai), Chau O (Phu Yen)... in Central and some other areas in the the Southern Region, new potter’s kiln continued to develop strongly: Cay Mai (Cho Lon), Lai Thieu (Binh Duong), Bien Hoa (Dong Nai).

10 centuries Vietnamese ceramics, along with the historical vicissitudes of the Nation have created a nuanced, a separate tradition, contributing to enrich the cultural heritage of Vietnam; a solid platform for today’s pottery of Vietnam which develop and integrate with countries in the world.

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No matter what brand you choose, it is very important to know how the colors work together.
Choosing the colors for your pottery or ceramic project should be an easy matter, but sometimes you need to sit down and think about how your pottery or ceramic will look in the room in which you intend them to reside or if your making them for sale, what are the popular colors people are buying.

Think about color relationships before you add that fushia colored teapot to your Chinese red room.

I didn't have a clue on how to read a color chart, much less use it for some of my art projects.
Hopefully, this will help you to understand colors.

Here are a few basic guidelines to get you started.

When choosing colors for your pottery or ceramic, there are many things to be considered.
Where will the piece be placed?
What other colors are in the room or area?
Should you choose colors to harmonize with the surroundings or contrast them?
If the piece is going to be for sale, what are the popular colors of the time? (Each year brings new colors into our lives.)
Make your decisions carefully, but don't be afraid to play with colors and shades.

Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment!

Hue is the actual color, whether it is primary or secondary.
Shade is the amount of black or white mixed in with the hue to make it lighter or darker.

Most people agree that peach and blue go well together, these colors are complementary, as are green and pink - think mint green and pale pink.
Blue and yellow are contrasting colors that go well together.
They are best when one color is dominant, blue for instance, as your main shade with the yellow as an accent or vice-versa.

One other choice is a mono-chromatic color scheme where you have one color only in varying shades from deep to very pale with perhaps white, black or grey.

I can certainly imagine it and would never want to paint any of my rooms that, I like the warm colors.
You decide what colors you feel most comfortable with and then glaze your pottery or ceramics to your hearts content from there.
I hope this page has helped you to understand how to pick your colors out.
This info can be used for paints also, not just glazes.

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Visitors participate in painting on pottery
Attenders were numerous invited guests from the ministries, central agencies, representatives of leaders from the Red River Delta provinces, Mr. Nguyen Van Hop, provincial People’s Council Vice Chairman, Mr. Nguyen Van Que, provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman, and the numerous people from Nam Sach district.

In recent years, Hai Duong province has been active in propagating and mobilizing local people to protect and promote the cultural heritage of Chu Dau ceramics.

The work of propagation, research on Chu Dau ceramics has been positively and practically done.

Chu Dau ceramic products are being protected by Chu Dau Ceramic JSC by constant innovation of models, quality improvement and delivery of products to nearly 100 countries around the world.

Over 400 delegates from over 40 countries and thousands of domestic delegations came to visit Chu Dau from 1991 to 2012.

This demonstrates the Chu Dau ceramic village’s huge potential of tourism.

16 craftsmen were honored during the opening ceremony.

The delegates and visitors came and burnt incense in artisan Bui Thi Hy house of worship; watched the process of artifacts, painting on pottery; visited the exhibition areas of ​​Chu Dau ancient pottery, porcelain in Chu Dau village culture house and the provincial Museum.

In the afternoon, the contest of gold bell ringing to learn about the history of the Chu Dau ceramics took place among the junior high school students of Nam Sach district at Chu Dau Pottery JSC.

The Program of Chu Dau Pottery Village Tourism is Hai Duong’s practical activity in response to the National Tourism Year of Red River Delta – Hai Phong 2013.

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When talking about ancient pottery villages, one immediately thinks of Bat Trang, Hanoi’s ancient ceramic village. But another ancient pottery village named Chu Dau, thanks to a discovery made in the 1980s, is beginning to rival Bat Trang. Chu Dau’s ceramic craft, once famous worldwide, has been resurrected after disappearing for 3 centuries.
The name Chu Dau literally means “wharf”. Chu Dau village in the northern province of Hai Duong was known only as a busy trading hub until evidence was uncovered that it used to produce ceramic vases that were renowned around the world. The story of Chu Dau’s revival as a ceramic village began with a 1980 letter from Makoto Anabuki, Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, to Ngo Duy Dong, Secretary of Hai Duong Province's Party Committee. In this letter, Anabuki wrote that during a working trip to Turkey, he had visited Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul and was very interested to see an ancient Vietnamese ceramic jar on display. On the jar was written: "In the Year of 1945 of the 8th Thai Hoa reign, a ceramic maker of the Bui Family in the Nam Sach area drew on this jar just for fun." Makoto Anabuki asked the Party Secretary to find the origin of this valuable jar 4 years later. From the information given, excavations uncovered relics proving that Chu Dau village used to produce ceramic products of high artistic merit. The discovery that wowed pottery experts also shocked the local residents. Nguyen Minh Tu, is a village elder of Chu Dau, says: "I never knew there were pottery kilns in this village although I sometimes found pieces of glazed terra-cotta in my garden. Only when experts came to my house and conducted excavations did I learn that those were pieces of national treasures. My fellow villagers and I are very happy and excited to receive experts, even foreign experts, to our village to research the village’s ancient craft of pottery."
In 1993 and 1997, at shipwreck sites in the Philippines’ Pandanan sea and near Vietnam’s Cham island, scientists found more than 340,000 porcelain objects from Chu Dau village, 240,000 of them unbroken. This proved that Chu Dau ceramic items were exported across the globe. Research has confirmed that Chu Dau’s ceramic craft was at its height from the 14th to the 17th century. There are currently 46 museums around the world displaying pottery products from Chu Dau village, some of the items worth as much as 1 million USD. In 2000, Nam Sach district native Nguyen Huu Thang, Director of the Saigon Haprosimex Company, wanted to revive Chu Dau as a ceramic village, copying excavated fine ceramic pieces for export and developing the village’s tourism potential. Villager Nguyen Van Luu was assigned the task of reviving the craft. He elaborated: "Our village’s ceramic craft has been highly praised by the international community. After much research, we decided it would be a very good thing to revive ancestors’ ancient craft. We believed this would generate jobs for many local people."
As part of this effort, in October, 2001, a Chu Dau ceramic workshop was established. Efforts were made to find and collect ancient ceramic pieces, and invite experts and artisans from other ceramic villages to collaborate on research into the colours of traditional ceramics. About 200 young people from Chu Dau Village were selected and taught the basic techniques and professional secrets of each production process. These apprentices will become expert artisans in the family ceramic groups of the future. From this workshop, many Chu Dau ceramic items have been exported globally, earning the villagers a better living now while paving the way for them to do even better when craft village tourism begins to spread their reputation to every corner of the world.

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Glazed ceramics tradition represents one of the most important remaining cultural legacies of Vietnamese history. It has begun to be seriously studied and admired by a wide range of connoisseurs, collectors, and scholars throughout the world. These pieces express the abundance of a natural world - with lively depictions of animals, birds, and flowers - as well as a technical and aesthetic mastery both in terms of forms and glazes. They also reveal the potter's creativity in transforming borrowed sources into uniquely Vietnamese works of art. Chu Dau is among the production centers that brought ceramics to the pinnacle of art.
 Ceramics from Chu Dau village started to be known at the end of the 14th century and became famous in the 15th and 16th centuries as high class glaze elegantly described in those eloquent words, "as pure as gem, as thin as paper, of color as nice as ivory and sound as nice as a bell". Products range from bowls, delightful plates, tea sets, vases, basins, lime pots, incense burners, etc. Chu Dau style is characterized by the unique combination of the fine style inherited from the Ly dynasty, and the vigorous style of the Tran dynasty. The most famous glazes of the Chu Dau age were transparent, blue, celadon, green, moss- green, light yellow, reddish yellow and tri-color (green, red and yellow).
 Another specialty of Chu Dau ceramics is its decorative motifs. Most of the ancient decorations included lotus, chrysanthemum of different styles and a great variety of other stylized patterns. Artisans were inspired by the scenes of daily life - women wearing Vietnamese hat & long dress, child tending a buffalo, bird on the branch of a peach tree, or storks flying over a field. Like in many other production centers, technical expertise reached a high level: polishing and styling on
 turning table, knocking out products, processing by banking, joining, designing, engraving, drawing, modeling and casting.
 For more than 500 years, ceramics from Chu Dau - located at the center of the economic development triangle Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh - have been exported to the Netherlands, England, France, Japan, Turkey and Southeast Asia. They are considered as valuable pieces by collectors and can be seen in national museums worldwide such as in Turkey, France, Belgium, Japan and the Netherlands. An antique ceramic pot from Chu Dau was recently sold at a bidding price of USD 521,000.
 After it survived from tire affliction of tire wars, Chu Dau ceramic village was restored due to the skilful and loving hands of potters perpetuating the skills of many generations of craftsmen They arc now working at the Chu Dau Ceramic Enterprise whose mission is to rehabilitate antique decorative motifs and glazes, mid promote them on the international market under the famous Chu Dau ceramic brand name. Products currently manufactured at Chu Dau include various kinds of plant pots, flower vases, gifts, statues, as well as collection pieces. Hundred of thousands pieces are exported every month to Spain, Hong Kong, Japan, America, etc, and highly valued by customers.

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A study of pottery glaze Vietnam
      Vietnam has a history of over 2000 years of producing pottery glaze. The earliest product in the history of the product may be produced in the Han dynasty style mimics the shape of bronze utensils at this stage. These products are not the same as the product of Chinese turquoise glaze early (celadon ceramics) in the same period. Chinese celadon ceramics of the period which are green and yellow enamel and ("core") as a pale gray clay. Vietnam pottery made ​​of white clay and covered with translucent enamel ivory. Many such products are found in Han tombs (I century AD) near Thanh Hoa.

Brown glaze pottery motifs ( Ly to Tien Le dynasty  - 11th century to the early 15th century)

       Vietnam Ceramic Type oldest, most recognizable as the products are manufactured according to the type of enamelled brown or white enamel - usually colored green. They are manufactured under the Ly dynasty (1009 - 1225 AD) and continued to be produced until the early 15th century. The origin of production techniques and motifs can be found on the product is first produced by workers Xuzhou (Cizhou) under the Song Dynasty - Northern. Decorating method called "Sgraffito" (ceramic decoration by carving up the surface of the material to show the different colors below). The most common is the first product to be coated a layer of clothing (liquid clay). Contours of motifs engraved / carved and water jacket outer layer is peeled away textures / scraped off. Products are then coated with a baked enamel throughout and offers. In addition, other methods are also first class products covering white liquid clay, then motifs carved / engraved and enameled. The other motifs are then scraped off, and brown enamel coating baked bring. Two furnace products from Henan and Inner Mongolia Yangyu Dang Chi Feng is shown below. Decorative technique similar to the second method of inlaid brown glaze pottery products in Vietnam. The biggest difference is the Vietnam ceramic products not covered with water jacket.

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Home and office feng shui :
Feng shui is basically  the practice of achieving harmony with the elements and the environment through proper placement and arrangement of space and matter. The above Baqua represents the interactive nature of the 5 elements in nature.  As earth is obviously the element connected with pottery , I will only analyse this element and the elements directly influencing it.
Firstly Earth occupies the centre of the Baqua. Why?  Because all the other elements are born from this element. therefore, of all the elements, it is the most stable and capable of bringing balance.
The elements of Fire ,Metal, Water and Wood  are respectively represented by the seasons Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring  but Earth is seemingly missing. However, on the cusp of each season change for one  month the element changes to Earth. At this time both the external elements and our internal elements go back to Earth for rebalancing. Interestingly, all the elements are employed in the creation of pottery:  earth clay, water, wood or gas fire, wood and metal tools and metal kiln.
According to the 5 Element interrelationships, Earth is nurtured by Fire but controlled by Wood. As all pottery and ceramics are fired in a kiln their earthiness is enhanced in the process.

So in a practical Feng Shui application, if an offiice has an abundance of  Wood ( desk, bookshelves, cabinets ), as this element fuels creative/expansive energy and  feeds nervous energy, this can lead to  tension. The presence of Earth will help to calm this element. ie. some of the Wood energy is absorbed by the Earth by virtue of the Wood controlling it. So the presence of a stone statue or a large ceramic vase or pottery will pacify the wood and bring harmony.

The central region of a house is where the Earth element prevails, so displaying vases and ceramic figurines in this area is also useful. Using a blend of earthy tones and yellows for color also contributes to the Earth harmony and  having this space sparse and  uncluttered is supportive.

Feng Shui in the bedroom :

Likewise, as the bedroom features wood, ( bed, wardrobes, drawers ) , the presence of the  Earth Element assists in pacifying the Wood Element and can actually assist in a more peaceful sleep.  Also the use of candles or oil lamps will help to rejuvinate the Earth element which could become exhausted trying to absorb excess Wood energy. Placing a large, heavy ceramic vase or sculpture ( preferably with gentle curved lines ) on the bedside table can aid relaxation. .

Dried flowers in a vase  will attract a depleted chi ( energy ) so this would not be advisable for the bedoom or central region of the home. Also, leaving stagnant water in a vase creates a negative chi. (Sha chi )

Trees and plants  with rounded leaves such as  the Oak tree ( traditionally regarded as sacred ) and the Jade plant, are recognized as having a good Feng Shui influence This is because the round shape is seen as being all inclusive, expansive and compassionate. As opposed to a pointed leaf which creates Sha Chi due to it  being exclusive and contracting, As the bulk of pottery and ceramics are created on a pottery wheel, they posses curved lines which also  create a great Feng Shui chi and.their innate symmetry also favours positive chi. Sharp, protruding corners and edges also create Sha Chi but are sometimes unavoidable so a round sided pot in close proximity can help counteract this.

The presence of water features ( fishtank, fountain ) in the Earth centre of your home is also problematic. Earth controls water ( just like a dam ) so this can weaken the Earth element.

Sometimes it’s difficult to determine the position of the periphial elements but it generally easy to determine the location of the Earth in the centre. Getting the Earth element established is the first step towards creating 

harmony in your home.

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Currently furnishing trends for housing is the owner's choice of ceramic products, making it not only more space, but also the history.In feng shui , the layout pottery is also considered important because it symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

Check out some viet pots decoration in the home, office.

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Black clay is a high plasticity clay and organic-rich. It consists primarily of unprocessed kaolin. The product is manufactured in black and clay by washing, sorting, removing impurities and coated to produce a slurry. After through mixing and filter presses Kaolinit handle, black clay produced well with dry, viscosity, plasticity, mobility and sintering behavior. The quality is soft, the viscosity is very good. It is one of the important combination clay in ceramics industry and raw materials of good quality of tiles, sanitary ware, ceramic products in the country.
Also because of this characteristic of ceramic products to life always brings its unique beauty

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The use of ceramic materials, although things simple household items or decorations that can beautify the interior space of the employer, it also plays an important role and contribute significantly increase the value of the space of you.

Ceramic is a material that is used quite a lot of home decor. The installation, layout pretty simple pots, but will provide good aesthetic effect. When the layout, note the size, material and type of ceramic.
Layout is the most common pots adorn the space, rather than overwhelm the space. That is the room or area to be exhibited pottery "clean" and corresponds to the purpose of putting pots on the aesthetic elements and accents are increased. You also need to be based on average sizes for selected positions. Carboys should be placed at the corner of the stairs, corner. Medium may be located at the corner table salon, large closet. Small pots on display, window sill or wall cavity. The theme of the pottery should be considered as appropriate to the time that the landlord arranged, eg holidays, Christmas and birthdays are so different.

    Material ceramic surface also depends style home. Simple natural ceramics, enamel packets, like folk pottery jars appropriate traditional tropical house. If the house has a modern youthful style pots should choose the alternative, strong colors, strange shapes. Maybe the two layouts in three clusters, or use the same tone as "twins". You should not overdo the interior ceramic because it will turn your home into a "museum reluctantly."

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Decoration for garden space, housing with ceramic flower pots will look closer to nature . Ceramic pots admire the skilled hands of craftsmen creating.

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