In connection with the Following the Dragon: Chinese Ming Porcelain in Early Jamestown special exhibition, Jamestown Settlement is hosting a free workshop in the ancient practice of fashioning a stamp used for personal identification.

Join Mary Swezey for a Chinese Seal printing workshop to create your very own set of Chinese seal cards to frame or send. Following a brief discussion about the significance of the Chinese seal (or chop), participants will translate their names into Chinese characters on paper. The characters will be transferred to soft printmaking blocks (Safety-Kut) and cut out using carving tools. The carved blocks will then be inked and printed on blank greeting cards.

This free workshop lasts about five hours, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., with a break for lunch, and is appropriate for ages 13+.

The Chinese Seal Printing Workshop has sold out. 

About the artist 

Mary Swezey has a BFA in art history from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in fibers from Arizona State University. She has also studied textile techniques at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. She has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Longwood College, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is funded, in part, by the Paul Mellon Endowment and the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund.

Tragedy and Romance: Tasting the Ming Dynasty • February 7 • 4 p.m. • Jamestown Settlement 

Join us Saturday, February 7, at Jamestown Settlement's Robins Foundation Theater for a unique opportunity to hear from a master of the Chinese tea arts. Feather Chen's expertise includes tea etiquette, brewing techniques and cultural insights. Learn more about this timeless beverage and its connections between cultures.

This illustrated talk explores the spirit of the Ming dynasty through the lens of tea in daily life. By tracing how tea drinking evolved during this period, the talk reveals how changes in politics, aesthetics and philosophy shaped the way people lived, gathered and found meaning in everyday rituals.

The tea talk is included with museum admission.

Include the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown in your visit with the value-priced combination ticket.

Residents of James City County, York County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency. For more information, call (757) 253-4838.

---

Following the Dragon: Chinese Ming Porcelain in Early Jamestown

In partnership with the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, Jamestown Settlement presents a new special exhibition spanning continents and empires. "Following the Dragon" explores Chinese Ming porcelain uncovered archaeologically at James Fort that reveals unexpected cultural connections linking colonial Virginia with imperial China.

Explore how unearthed artifacts connect two distant worlds, revealing surprising facts about the Jamestown colony’s early years.

These porcelain sherds witnessed the start of English America.

"Following the Dragon: Chinese Ming Porcelain in Early Jamestown" is included with general admission to Jamestown Settlement.

About Jamestown Settlement

Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days), Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 just southwest of Williamsburg. The museum features expansive exhibition galleries and films that connect visitors with the lives of the Powhatan, English and West Central African cultures that converged at 17th-century Jamestown. Outdoor living-history areas feature historical interpretation in re-creations of Paspahegh Town, 1607 English ships and a colonial fort.

Admission tickets can be purchased online or in person.