BBC 4 – Handmade In Britain – Ceramics: A Fragile History. 10 October 2011 at 9.00pm

Ceramics: A Fragile History There are three episodes to this one hour BBC4 programme: on Mondays 10, 17 and 24 October 2011. Episode 1 is looking at domestic pottery from the Tudor period onwards. It traces the evolution of different techniques and styles involved in the art of pottery and examines in intimate detail what British pots can tell us about how generations before us lived and how they saw themselves. Episode 2. Focuses on Stoke on Trent including those responsible for the dominance of British Ceramics from Josiah Wedgewood and Josiah Spode to Clarice Cliff and Susie Cooper. Episode 3. From the mass produced pots of the industrial revolution to the Arts and Crafts Movement to the rebirth of handmade pots by Bernard Leach to the imaginative and exciting ceramics of the current period. See more detail on the BBC site: www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/09_september/30/handmade2.shtml If you are interested in the story of British Ceramics this is a series not to be missed.via StudioPottery.co.uk

Ceramics Monthly – Ceramic Artist of the Year


I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the title of Ceramic Artist of the Year than Ayumi Horie. An amazing artist, a generous humanitarian and activist. Many congrats to you Ayumi! I’ll raise my cup (made by you of course!) to you today.

Read all about Ayumi and the award here.
And please check out Ayumi’s website here.
And last but not least check out the Ceramic raffle to support Japan – ends on October 9th

British Ceramics Biennial Starts this Friday!

Runs from September 30th to November 13th @ Stoke-On-Trent

BCB showcases excellence and the best of contemporary practice by makers and artists across the UK, building significant partnerships with other major festivals and centres for ceramic research, and making significant European partnerships. At the heart of the British Ceramics Biennial is AWARD at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, a major exhibition of work by artists, potters and designers working at the creative leading edge of contemporary ceramics practice. From the 28 finalists exhibited, one winner will be awarded a £10,000 prize. We’re delighted to welcome Spode, part of the Portmeirion Group, as the sponsor of this Award, and also the Spode Room, making them our leading sponsor partner in 2011. On the historic listed site of the original Spode Pottery factory in Stoke Town, FRESH will showcase the work of 40 recent UK graduates. FRESH will also highlight the Crafts Council’s “Firing Up” project to re-invigorate the learning of ceramics in secondary schools. ReFRESH will showcase examples of ground-breaking ceramic research. One of the largest shop floors at the original Spode site will be the home of A Great Wall. This large-scale installation will feature tableware to technical ceramics, highlighting the diversity, innovation and creativity of the UK ceramic industry. A new body of work by acclaimed ceramic artist Phil Eglin, Mould Store will see the artist re-use and reclaim the discarded ceramic moulds from the nine remaining stores at the original Spode site. Eglin joins five other artists who will create specific responses to the factory buildings to allow visitors to explore the ten-acre site. The work of ten international artists including Tony Cragg, Hella Jongerus, Betty Woodman and Anne Ausioos, produced during residencies at the European Ceramics Work Centre, will be brought to Stoke-on-Trent for Sunday Morning @EKWC. The exhibition is co-curated by Neil Brownsword, an internationally acclaimed artist from Stoke-on-Trent and winner of the overall 2009 BCB Award. OPEN will see the area’s museums, galleries and ceramic industries with their own programme across three weekends during the festival.Visit their website for all the details.
* Update – here‘s an article from the Guardian on the events.

Call for entry: Ceramics Competition Valladolid City

Ceramics Contest XVII Valladolid City Council promotes and sponsors the seventeenth edition of Ceramics Competition Valladolid City. IV International Meeting, the deadline for submission of documentation for entries is October 31. The jury, composed of three personalities from the worlds of art and ceramics, which will be announced after making public his decision, make a selection of participants, which should send the parts during the month of November. The prize, worth 5,000 euros, together with the Special Jury Mentions, will fail during the month of December. Subsequently, an exhibition at the Municipal Exhibition Hall Revilla, to make known to the public and the media the result. To get the complete rules, contact the organization: VALLADOLID CERAMIC TILE ASSOCIATION
PO Box, 359
47080 Valladolid Tel: 627 959 558
e-mail: [email protected] Ceramic Review