“Toyugi Hot Spring Resort & Spa” in Zhiben, Taitung offers hot spring, SPA and swimming as well as pottery making. I spent two hours in the handmade activity to relax my mind and enjoyed the somehow peculiar vacation activity.
I used to stay in Toyugi when I came traveling in Taitung previously and I had a good impression here. The most impressive is we sat in the hot spring pool in the evening, and chatted while watching the sky. Even though there may not be stars, the drifting clouds and the suave breeze made us relaxed. This is my third time staying in Toyugi, I came with coworkers and we went to its little white house and had fun with potting.
▲The ceramic signboard corresponds to its image and saves costs
▲The sign on the door is also ceramic
▲DIY pottery
Instead of using the wheel, we pinched our cups, plates and objects on the plates. The instructor spent half an hour teaching us how to pinch a cup and a plate as well as the tips to add the ornaments on it so they won’t fall apart.
▲The instructor was telling us how to pinch the bowls and plates, then it all depended on our talents of making pottery
Listening to the instruction was a piece of cake, I felt challenged when I got the clay because I had to unleash my creativity and make my own cup and plate. Originally I planned to make myself a small cup, but it became bigger and bigger…
▲Here are the tools of pottery making
▲Using the iron wire to divide the clay and spare 30% for ornaments
I was not gifted in pottery making, so my finished products are far from perfect. I imagined making a beautiful water glass, but pinching the clay is more challenging than I thought, I couldn’t make my glass tall and it kept getting wider and bigger, eventually a cup became a bowl.
▲Using the fingers to pinch the rim of the cup
▲In half an hour, my cup became a bowl
▲Having some flowers as the ornament
Finishing making my “bowl”, I stood up, looked around, and found all kind of ingenuity. Some made exquisite bowls and some used all the clay to make a pot; I also saw some well structured plates. Everyone’s idea is interesting. And of course, I am not the only one who is not gifted in making pottery; it’s good to know I was not alone!
▲I planned to make a plate. But it cannot be confirmed yet whether the shape is a fish or Taiwan island, because the world of pottery is beyond our control!
▲A very exquisite work. We can tell the individual differences in the pottery classroom
▲I looked around in the classroom and found my “cup” has many siblings-- it is not alone.
▲How skillful to make the elephants
Taking my time to make the pottery and I didn’t realize 2 hours quickly passed by. The fun of making pottery is you are set free in the process because the mind is in a mode other than working and meanwhile you can enjoy chatting with friends that can naturally release the pressure. The instructor will take care of the rest—glazing and firing. Then it takes 2 to 3 months to ship the final products to your designated address. How will they look? We’ll see.
Toyugi Hot Spring Resort & Spa
Add: No. 18, Lane 376, Wenchuan Rd., Wenchuan Village, Beinan Township, Taitung County
Tel：089-516111
Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/toyugi
Website：http://www.toyugi.com.tw