Malaysian Ceramic Artist Sees Beauty In Imperfections

By Soon Li Wei KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) -- In the eyes of Cheah Yeow Seng, even an imperfectly sculpted ceramic craft is a work of art. There are times when this 60-year-old ceramic artist's creations turn out flawed but he will not discard them. "There is beauty in imperfections as well. I wouldn't throw away these artworks as there are customers who like such unique ceramics," he said. He said it was possible to reshape misshapen pottery, with some ceramicists even reshaping them multiple times until they attain a semblance of perfection. Cheah, however, makes no attempt to reshape an imperfect piece and he encourages his students to emulate him. "Even if my work emerges imperfect, it will be retained and valued for its ‘beauty’ as well as ‘imperfection’,” he said. HEART AND SOUL To Cheah, who has been involved in making ceramics for over 40 years, ceramic art was all about engaging one's sensation of touch and even feelings. "To me, creating ceramic art pieces is like staging episodes of my own life. "Whilst I'm in the process of shaping clay, I communicate and link myself with the 'life within' (my artwork) through my feelings and touch sensation," said Cheah, fresh from the success of his first solo ceramic art exhibition that was held here, from June 3 to 18. Thus, he viewed each and every piece created by him – whether it was perfect or not – as a unique representation of his own life. This master ceramicist obviously puts his heart and soul into his work and little wonder his recent exhibition was titled, "My Clay Soul: Cheah Yeow Seng Ceramic Art Exhibition." About 100 pieces of exquisite ceramics he had moulded out of Malaysian clay were displayed during the exhibition, organised by non-governmental organisation Soka Gakkai Malaysia. POSITIVE FRAME OF MIND Stressing the importance of maintaining a positive mindset during the entire process of pottery-making, Cheah said years of experience told him that such a disposition would yield beautiful creations. “This saves resources. And, most importantly, in maintaining a good state of mind throughout the process, the artist is showing respect to his or her artwork,” he pointed out. "One must remain calm and focused. Nothing must be rushed. Ceramic art is about realigning one's mindset. One must maintain a peaceful heart and soft hands in handling the soft soil (clay). When we are indecisive or troubled, there will be glaring differences in the outcome as well." Speaking to this writer when she visited his exhibition last month, Cheah said he wanted visitors to not only touch and feel the textures of his ceramic pots, bowls, plates and sculptures, but also be able to appreciate the message he was trying to convey to them through his exhibits. When this writer's gaze fell on a beautiful jade-coloured bowl, which was part of the ceramic artist's "matcha (a type of finely-ground green tea) chawan (bowl)" series, Cheah explained that this particular exhibit conveyed the importance of appreciating nature and preserving the environment. "I've made over 200 ceramic bowls to try to convey the same message but it was this matcha bowl (the exhibit) that I'm most satisfied with," he added. ONLY USES MALAYSIAN CLAY Cheah, who studied ceramic art at the Kuala Lumpur College of Art from 1979 to 1984, has his own showroom and workshop in Segambut, here. Besides Malaysia, he has also conducted ceramic workshops in Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, India and Thailand. He has also participated in group exhibitions in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, China, the Philippines and Japan. Unlike other ceramic artists who use clay mixtures sourced from abroad, Cheah only uses Malaysian clay which, he says, is of high quality. "Malaysia has the greatest soil (clay) in the world. I am Malaysian, so I use Malaysian soil (clay)," he declared. Much of the clay that he uses is sourced from Rawang, Selangor, which is suitable for making porcelain items and stoneware. "Indulging in contemporary ceramic art gives us a different kind of satisfaction because the end-result may not be what we had expected it to be," Cheah said, adding that he preferred to focus on the ceramic-creation process rather than the end product itself. Explaining how ceramics are made, he said the clay is first kneaded to get rid of the air bubbles trapped inside it; the kneaded clay is put on a sculpting wheel to attain the desired shape and size, after which it is glazed and then fired in a kiln to harden it. "This whole process takes about five to seven days. After the ceramic piece is removed from the kiln, it is coated with a special paint meant for ceramics. It then goes into the kiln again to have its surface firmed up," added Cheah. -- BERNAMA