Water Eddies series, 2010. Wheel thrown porcelain, clear glaze.

So this is an example of the latest thrown bowls I’ve been decorating with coloured slips. They’re fired to 1260ºC in an electric kiln, so have more of a buttery, soft nature than the more translucent earlier work which was fired much higher in the GSA’s gas kilns. I’ve got a few shades of yellow, blue and green and have this idea that it would be nice to have a whole gradation of shades, sets with individual pieces that will be ever so slightly differing in hue.

Water Eddies series, 2010, wheel thrown porcelain

The glaze is a little crazed, which was a surprise to me, because it was perfect in the glaze tests, and it’s very thin, but since it’s porcelain and high fired, it shouldn’t matter in a functional sense. A few people commented that they actually like it better like that.

The Students and Staff of the Ceramics Department at the Glasgow School of Art invite you to the opening night of their exhibition, presenting works of protest against the closure of Scotland’s last ceramics department.

The exhibition will be held at the Owl and Lion Gallery, 15 The Grassmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2HS. Runs from Friday 29th February until Sunday 2nd March (one weekend only). Opening hours 10 till 6pm.

Join the artists for the opening night at 5pm on Friday 29th February.

Click on the link below for the flyer:

Exhibition at Grassmarket, Edinburgh

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART CERAMICS DEPARTMENT.

Despite all the bad news with the recent QILT vote to go through with the closure of the Ceramics Department at the Glasgow School of Art, there is still hope. Student power and the power of the community is invaluable in reversing the policy of the institution and the government who seem intent on wiping out ceramic practice in Scotland.

Are you an art practitioner or student? With funding cuts affecting the closure of an entire discipline in Scotland, who’s to say whether your department won’t be next? Is Ceramics only the first department in a long line of planned cuts? How long will the Glasgow School of Art remain open?

Is art culturally valuable? What will happen to Scottish identity if the next generation of Scottish artists don’t have access to education  or the means for cultural expression through art? How will this affect tourism and our community? We need YOUR help to succeed!

Now all the information you need has been added centrally on one blog that is accessible to all. Click here to view the blog. There you will be able to sign our petition to express your support. You will also find a permanent link to the new blog on the right hand side of this page. If you’ve already signed our petition, your letters addressed to the GSA executive, to your local government representative and to your local press, in support of the ceramics department are invaluable.

Thank you for your support.

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART CERAMICS DEPARTMENT.

For everyone who has been following the developments at the Glasgow School of Art, with the proposed closure of the ceramics department, the only remaining undergraduate ceramics course on offer in Scotland, I am including below a document, which was presented to the board on Monday 20th February by Ester Svensson, student representative for full time undergraduate students (The formatting in the article below is my own):

If you would like to download and print out this document, this is a pdf copy: Letter from students for GSA Board of Studies meeting.

The Future of Ceramic Design
Students’ Response
Ceramics (Full-time) Student Representative
Febuary 2008

1). The lack of consultation.

The recommendation states “for the past five years the undergraduate pathway of BA (Hons) Design in Ceramics and Ceramic Design has been under scrutiny.” What form did this scrutiny take?

A review was announced in September (2007), but did not seem to actually materialize. A review meeting had been scheduled with the ceramics staff on Monday 4th (Febuary), but was canceled, and the next day the recommendation was announced to the staff. It came as a shock, both to staff and students.

(more…)

Considering the grim news about the imminent proposed closure of the GSA Ceramics Department – the fate of which is to be decided at a Board of Studies meeting this Monday 18th February, I’ve decided to highlight some of the excellent undergraduate talent currently coming out of the Glasgow School of Art ceramics program.

If this program closes, there will be no undergraduate ceramics courses at university level available for study in either of the major cities in Scotland. What will this mean for Scottish ceramic art and Scottish culture as a whole? Can such a small country afford to turn it’s back on contemporary artists? Will future generations of artists be lost to England or abroad elsewhere? Will Scotland lose that avenue for social commentary and creative expression?

Ester Svensson, 4th year honors student, in her space at GSA

This is some of the most interesting, original and innovative work that I’ve seen to date. Ester is a young artist who is interested in multiculturalism, myth and storytelling. To view Ester’s work – click here.

Furthermore, Ester took a year off her university studies last year and traveled to Afghanistan, where she worked for the Turquise Mountain Foundation. The Foundation is involved with helping to restore historic sites and keep traditional craft skills from disappearing, providing employment and income for families recovering from the devastation of war.  Ester worked with Afghani potters in a cultural exchange of knowledge and skill for a full year, visiting ceramics restoration workshops and a ceramics school. To view the incredibly beautiful photographs of ancient and rarely before seen ceramic art from her journeys click here.

To everyone who has written letters of support for the Glasgow School of Art Ceramics Department, a big THANK YOU.

Ester Svensson and three other student representatives, as well as Archie McCall, Head of Undergraduate Studies for the School of Design and former head of the Ceramics Department, met with the Head of the Design School, Professor McAra McWilliam on Tuesday 12th February and handed her the letters. Unfortunately the Director of the Glasgow School of Art, Professor Seona Reid could not attend.

Here is an excerpt from Ester’s email about the meeting:

Hello everyone,

ester

To everyone who reads this blog:

PLEASE HELP US SAVE THE CERAMICS DEPARTMENT
AT THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART.

Ester Svensson’s email address is: thisisestersaddress at gmail dot com

I have just received news that the Head of the School of Design, Professor Irene McAra McWilliam, announced to the student body today that the school is to stop accepting enrollments from new students in ceramics, with a view to closing the department down.

The official reason for the closure is that the department has not received enough interest from prospective students for keeping it running to remain a viable option. This, however, seems incorrect, as always in the past there have been more new applicants than places available.

With the recent amalgamation of the Ceramics Department at the Edinburgh College of Art with the Sculpture Department, it appears that all options for skills based degrees for ceramic artists in Scotland are being closed.

I have recently moved to Scotland and have been involved with the Glasgow School of Art Ceramics Department while studying for my MPhil degree in Ceramics through the Australian National University. Indeed, the ANU has had a long standing exchange and working relationship with the Glasgow School of Art, as have many other institutions throughout the world.

I have found the knowledge, skills and generosity of Archie McCall, Bill Brown, Irene Bell and Wendy Kershaw to be outstanding. Their hard work, expertise, mentorship and love of teaching is all that stands against the loss of talent, continuity of the Scottish ceramic tradition and skill for the next generation of Scottish contemporary ceramic artists and designers.

The Glasgow School of Art offers a design perspective to the study of ceramics, including unique state of the art screen printing and plaster working facilities. It is widely connected with ceramics industry and specializes in Architectural Ceramics.

It is indeed a shock for me, as well as for all ceramics students at the department to hear these news. As a result, the student body is due to meet with the Executive on Tuesday the 12th of February, to express their concerns. It would be incredibly helpful if they could bring any messages with them that express support for their cause.

I ask that all of you forward this message to anyone who has studied, taught at, or visited the Glasgow School of Art Ceramics Department.

Messages of protest regarding the proposed closure should be directed to the Director of the Glasgow School of Art, Professor Seona Reid (s dot reid at gsa dot ac dot uk) or to the Head of the School of Design at the Glasgow School of Art, Professor Irene McAra McWilliam (i dot mcara-mcwilliam at gsa dot ac dot uk). Furthermore, messages can be emailed to Ester Svensson (thisisestersaddress at gmail dot com), who is a 4th year honors student in ceramics and she will print them out and present them at the student meeting with the GSA executive on this Tuesday, 12th February.

I thank you in advance for any support that you are able to offer.

Irene Bell, Turf Cart, 2007 (Detail), slipcast earthenware with underglaze drawing

I’ve added a new album of work by Irene Bell. Irene is a part-time lecturer in ceramics at the Glasgow School of Art. She also lectures first year Design students in the Core Studies program.

Bell draws inspiration from the undulations and sweeps of manipulated landscapes, in particular, golf courses and topiary. She specializes in freehand tonal drawing on raw clay, and the compositional relationship of image to form. Her compositions border on the dangerous transition between working and not-working, between eye pleasing, harmonious success and graphic disaster.

She also has a keen interest in the interaction between stationary objects and those in motion. Portions of each image appearing static, while others in the same composition appear to move. To view Irene Bell’s work, please click here.

A very small portion of the intricately carved ceiling of Roslyn Chapel, about 20 mins drive South of Edinburgh. There is a theory that the little boxes coming down from the ceiling represent musical notes. Each box has a pattern carved into it, which happens to be identical to the pattern which is formed by loose grains of sand, if they are placed on a piece of metal which makes that particular note.

Firstly, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to my husband, Campbell Brown and my brother, Filip Radlinski, who took it upon themselves over the last few weeks to devote much of their spare time in order to wrestle with and tame the technology behind this blog and website, including spending hours waiting in a telephone queue to speak to my hosting company.

Writing here is all very fun and easy but when it comes to things like backups, software updates or migrating to a new platform… (that’s nothing to do with trains, shoes or birds), dns pointers, etc, it’s all just a whole lot of incomprehensible gobblygook to me – or however that may be spelled, but you get the idea.

The website hopefully doesn’t look any different, but it’s all brand spanking new and shiny in the background, I assure you, and I NEVER would have been able to tackle it by my lonesome.

However, if you do come across a link that no longer works, please email me and let me know, so that I can fix it. There conceivably could be a few that have slipped through the very fine teeth of the virtual comb we used. AND if you have book marked any part of this blog or my gallery pages, it might be a good idea to make a new bookmark, as your old one may no longer work.

As a result of the changes I haven’t been able to make any updates to the site for a while – even though I’ve been here, and working hard in the studio (with a little break for the festive season, I must admit).

John Maguire, 2001. Tall Vase in studio courtyard. Thrown stoneware with cobalt wood ash glaze and white slip.

So apart from loud and wild Christmas parties, three day long Hogmanay (New Year’s) celebrations and my madly feverish preparation for my trip and forthcoming WIP in Oz, I’d like to announce that the first thing I’ve tackled this year website-wise is a new album full of images from John Maguire’s portfolio. Click here to view them.

Bill Brown, “24 (22:00)”, 2005, Stoneware with silk screen enamel transfer, 45 x 30cm

I’ve added a new album of work by Bill Brown, who is head of Ceramic Design at the Glasgow School of Art. Click here to view the images.

Although many single images of his work, spanning a lengthy career, can be found in various books, catalogs and international collections, I believe that this is a unique collection of images. It encompasses at least a decade of creative practice and he has very kindly allowed me to make them available online to share with everyone.

For me, Bill Brown’s work is an expression of a wonderful quirky sense of humour and intelligent observation of contemporary life, culture, the media and advertising, coupled with a mastery of industrial ceramic production techniques which include mould making and printing on clay.

The silk screen enamel printing technique used in his work is known as decals in some other parts of the world. Bill Brown screen prints his own full colour decals using on glaze enamels, after putting his photographs and graphic works through a digital colour separation process in Photoshop.

The piece displayed above is from the series “24″. It’s based on the idea of taking one photograph per hour to document a continuous 24 hour period in the life of the artist. This particular one includes a photograph taken at 10pm, of Charing Cross, a busy intersection in Glasgow City center, not far from the Glasgow School of Art.