Category Archives: Uncategorized

Can Ceramic Art Be Sustainable?

I talk a lot of pompous guff about making art in response to the ‘reckless behaviour of man’? Yet, how can I claim to care for my planet and, at the same time, talk about artists needing to hold everyone to account for the damage we are doing to our World whilst, at the same time, making artefacts which will last for ever? Ceramics, more than most art media is guilty of adding to the problem so what right do I have to preach about it?

In an attempt to solve this dilemma I have been having conversations and trialling some new ideas: work which is still made with clay as the main material but where the clay is not fired. Technically, it isn’t ceramic as it never goes through the chemical changes which the kiln subjects clay to. The good thing is that it can be returned to the earth when finished with and won’t hang around until the end of time. The question that I am left with is, why would anyone buy something which could disappear in the next shower of rain?

I begin to think that I might be getting there. Recent experiments are looking quite promising.

Raw clay polished and mounted on bark

It seems that polishing raw clay has been going on for centuries and Japanese Hikaru Dorodango, polished spheres from mud which are very beautiful and fetch hundreds of pounds so . . . .

Social Media – do we need it?

This week I took the decision to close my Facebook account. I had been considering it for a bit but what tipped me over the edge was Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end factchecking in favour of prioritising free speech. I am a great believer in free speech but I believe that this decision opens the flood gates to content which is not so much free speech as harmful rhetoric. The people who, in my opinion, stand to suffer most from this decision are vulnerable groups such as women, LGBT+ people, people of colour. People who already face disproportionate harassment and attacks.

My decision is a tiny drop in a vast ocean. It will make no difference at all. Indeed I am now left feeling rather disingenuous because I have left Facebook but I have retained my presence on Instagram, also part of Meta, so what am I playing at?

There is a difference between the two platforms in terms of their content which I could use to justify my actions but the fact is that artists really need social media.

I am stuck

between a rock

and

a hard place.

Artists are expected to have a social media presence in order to be taken seriously. They use it to discover opportunities for exhibitions, residencies and courses and to keep in touch with their communities. The ultimate irony is that virtually no-one will see this post because most traffic to my blogs is directed from my social media accounts. So I find myself between a rock and a hard place and I actually don’t know what to do about it.