Cove Inspiring Ceramicists

TINA ROSE looks at the experience of ceramicist Frances Priest at Cove Park, and considers the implications of a discussion on the future of ceramics in Scotland

COVE PARK, the international centre for art located beside Loch Long on the Roseneath peninsula, awards several craft residencies each year.

In 2008 ceramicist Frances Priest was chosen for their three month Scottish crafts residency, and she finished her visit by inviting guests to come and see her new work and by talking about the residency experience.

One of the first changes she noticed when she arrived was the pleasure in moving from a dark studio in the city to a light space surrounded by stunning countryside and wildlife. In this new environment the 4,000 photographs she had taken in recent visits to Thailand, Cambodia and Japan, many of which had been pinned to her studio wall, suddenly gained a new importance.

She started playing with them, forming them into groups and mapping the visual imagery. Fascinated by the surfaces covering the landscapes and building, she began picking out patterns, which then developed into drawings, and collages which began crawling up the walls.

She then began creating a range of different ceramic shapes and forms and exploring patterns on them as an extension of the structure, developing the language of drawing for the ceramic surface. “I like the playfulness of these objects” she explained. “Objects people can interact with. The idea of creating an object that is about discussing the visual language of a place.”

The experience of working at Cove Park, however, was much more than the opportunity to work in a new environment. “The diversity of activity is really exciting” she says, referring to the fact that you meet other people doing residencies at the same time, such as poets, musicians, writers and visual artists from all over the world. Although everyone has their own living and working space, they meet each other informally over dinner in the evenings, and she found explaining her work to people from different backgrounds and other areas of the arts very challenging. This led her to reflect on what she is doing in her work and how she defines it.

Cove Park’s residency programme begins in April and continues until November. In 2008 their programme brought together over fifty national and international artists working in a wide variety of art forms and at all stages in their careers.

Next year they will award up to five three-month residencies and two six-week residencies in crafts, literature and the visual arts. The application guidelines and confirmation of application deadlines for these residencies will be published on their website on 1 October 2008.

The broader future of ceramics in Scotland was the focus of an informal discussion during Frances Priest’s residency. Everyone involved in crafts in Scotland was shocked at the news earlier this year that Glasgow School of Art will no longer be teaching ceramics at undergraduate level. This development was the driving force behind the discussion at Cove Park.

Frances gathered together key makers and professionals from throughout Scotland and the UK for the event, which marked the end of her three month residency at the centre.

The aim of the discussion was to map current ceramics activity and look at ways to sustain future making. It began with a listing of the high quality ceramicists currently working in Scotland, examples of organisations supporting young makers including studio spaces, shops and galleries who sell ceramics, opportunities for exhibiting work and web presences with an international reach.

Balancing these positive aspects were concerns about the poor studio provision, lack of networks for makers, lack of venues to show innovative and experimental craft and the closure of courses which makes it harder for makers to maintain and transfer skills.

The need to keep ceramic workshops spaces in colleges was seen as key to the long term future. Participants also believed there needs to be a centre for ceramics in Scotland if activity is to be sustained in any meaningful way. It would provide a hub of activity, giving a focus to makers and generating international networks.

Another important area was the exhibition side, where it was felt there was a need to develop different structures for showing craft and for museums to offer different ways to view craft and engage with it, such as Craft Rocks at the V&A in London.

Funding for makers and curators was also seen as core to the future growth of ceramics, particularly the Scottish Arts Council’s craft department, but that private investment must also be developed to sustain making.

The dissemination of information through a wide range of sources was considered vital – critical writing, exhibitions, websites, seminars, group discussions, talks and events, all of which will build a sense of community, and a crafts scene. Three organisations mentioned presently doing this were craftscotland, IC: Innovative Craft and Cove Park.

The conclusion was that this was just the beginning of an open dialogue which it is hoped will develop into a network which can grow and provide a valuable focus for the future of ceramics.

© Tina Rose, 2008

Links

• Cove Park
• Craftscotland