German ceramicist finds inspiration in China's "porcelain capital" of Jingdezhen

German ceramic artist Karin Flurer-Bruenger views a set of porcelain themed with "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" at a porcelain store at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025.

Karin Flurer-Bruenger is a participant in the Migratory Bird Program at Jingdezhen's Taoxichuan Art Center -- an initiative launched in 2015 to invite artists from around the world to live, create and exchange ideas in Jingdezhen City, east China's Jiangxi Province.

Though raised in a family of engineers, it was the texture of wet clay, not machinery, that captured her imagination early on.

As she recalled, her father was a mechanical engineer and inventor, who was always sketching his new ideas. That early exposure sparked her interest in handmade work. To pursue that interest, she apprenticed with a master potter.

In Jingdezhen, where ancient craftsmanship meets global creativity, Flurer-Bruenger has found both inspiration and innovation. She's experimenting with thin-body and openwork porcelain techniques -- honed through local mentorship and supported by the studio's shared kilns.

"I have all the possibilities around me -- with kilns, places, and people who are really specialized in ceramics, in porcelain, and lots of nice exhibitions. So I'm very happy to be here," Flurer-Bruenger said. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

German ceramic artist Karin Flurer-Bruenger works at her studio at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

German ceramic artist Karin Flurer-Bruenger works at her studio at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

This photo taken on April 9, 2025 shows a relic of the large-scale opencast mining site of the Kaolin clay in Gaoling Village, Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

This photo taken on April 9, 2025 shows the ancient wharf ruins on Dongbu ancient street in Yaoli Town, Fuliang County, Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province. The Dongbu street served as a distribution center for the transport of Kaolin clay in ancient times. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

German ceramic artist Karin Flurer-Bruenger works at her studio at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

This photo taken on April 9, 2025 shows a memorial of the naming place of "Kaolin", the white clay used in Jingdezhen's ceramics, in Gaoling Village, Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

Tourists experience the creation of ceramic art at a pottery studio at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

This photo taken on April 9, 2025 shows Kaolin clay displayed in Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

German ceramic artist Karin Flurer-Bruenger poses for a photo at her studio at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

German ceramic artist Karin Flurer-Bruenger shows the German term "Kaoline" written in her book at Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)