1999 International Ceramics festival Review

1999 Festival review by Jim Robison Like the best of opera, there is excitement, anticipation, great human endeavour, good humour and rapturous audience response when performers reach unexpected heights on stage at the biennial International Ceramics Festival in Wales. Tragedies are forgotten and the reputation is complete when, as they say, "the fat lady sings".

Well the Korean potter Kang Hyo Lee is anything but a fat lady, but his incredible performance of making and decorating a shoulder high vessel in the traditional Punchong style was certainly breathtaking. Thick coils, 2 metres in length were created by the seemingly effortless method of throwing 12 kilo lumps of clay to the left and right of him as he squateed down on the floor of the stage. These were joined together and shaped between hands and wooden paddles on a traditional Korean momentum wheel made especially for the occasion. When the vessels were completed, thick white slip was applied by the double handful in a flurry of activity that could have been a dance or combat, or both.

right: Kang Hyo Lee working on his large vessel

The spellbound audience was visibly moved as he brought the performance to a close with a Korean folk song. Rapturous applause followed. What an ending to the final stint of demonstrations! And this was only one element in the mix of some 18 demonstrators representing ten countires. in fact, next to Lee, up on builders scaffolding, stood Latvian potter Dainis Pundurs applying the finishing touches to a beautifully thrown and roulett decorated bottle form, which at 2.80 metres, was taller than the door through which it would need to exit.

left: Dainis Pundurs working on his large bottle

The illustrious English potter Ray Finch opened this years activities, and in a surprise move known only to the events planning committee, was himself presented with a lifetime achievement award for service to ceramics by honorary festival president Mick Cassson. This is the beginning of a planned tradition that will be continued at each festival. The Friday evening continued with a short slide presentation by each demonstrator.

On Saturday and Sunday, paired demonstrations were conducted on stage at hourly intervals. Everyone appeared twice and was also given an hour slot for a slide lecture in seperate theatres. Spaces were allocated for continuous working between times so that visitors could informally approach and talk to the guest artists.

Peter Beard (England) and Phil Rogers (Wales) began Saturday morning with handbuilding and throwing, adding detailed explanations of glazing and finishing pieces on Sunday. The beautiful turquoise blue of Beard's pots is achieved partly by radically overfiring alkaline copper glazes. Rogers' contrasting approach to functional ware is inspired by Historic Korean pieces.

The large scale throwing of Dainis Pundurs (Latvia) was paired with the saltglazed ware of Cathi Jefferson (Canada), whose work showed the subtle influence of the natural surroundings of her home in Deep Cover, Vancouver. Sculptor Alan Watt gave an object lesson on observation skills when he used knife and wire on solid blocks of clay. The torn and assembled fragments retained the freshness of untouched surfaces, resembling natural rock formations of his native Australia. Insights into the use of terra-sigillata and lustre to enhance the 'black firing' added to the demonstration.

above: Phil Rogers, Alan Watt and Cathi Jefferson

right: Vilma Henkelman

Mikang Lim (Korea) created several of her striking figurative pieces using variations in coil and slab techniques, while Paolo Staccioli (Italy) modeled directly, creating a whole herd of horses and a group of angels. Originally a painter, Staccioli also explained his childhood passion for the animal and how his painted lustre tiles are created.

left: Mikang Lim constructing the bases for her figures

below: Paolo Staccioli modeling one of his Renaissance inspired horses

The on stage line-up was complemented by Joe Finch, (son of Ray Finch), who offered dozens of useful suggestions under the broad brush of "Potters' Tips".

Outside, under sunny skies (and through the night), Coll Minogue and Robert Sanderson (Scotland), with help from half a dozen eager Bretton Hall students, constructed and fired a Bourry-box wood-burning kiln. Thay had been on site for just three days prior to the event and several skeptics were confounded when on Sunday afternoon the successful firing was unpacked. They had managed to level the site and build the kiln, pack the pots, fire to cone 11 and unpack before an admiring audience by Sunday afternoon.

Eddie daughton extended the pyromaniac tendencies by building and firing a replica Roman kin. This was assembled from freshly cut turf, lined with clay and fired with wood. I'm not sure what the Romans would have made of his addition of copper oxide mixed with oil at around midnight, but the whoosh of flame won't soon be forgotten by those who were standing nearby. Polish artist Malgorzata Dyrda-Kujawska pushed the boundaries of kilnbuilding still further with the construction of a press-moulded clay sculpture-as-kiln fired on site. And there was an opportunity for audience participation when Steve Mattison and Meri Wells lit up the raku kiln on the terrace.

above: Eddie Daughton, Malgorzata Dyrda-Kujawska, Meri Wells

Welsh artist Stephanie Roberts invited audience participation in the creation of an ambitious three-dimensional mosaic, while a permanent record of the activities was taken by recent graduate Helen Smith. She was the recipient of another award new this year for a talented student or recent graduate to take part in the festival. She will use combinations of photographs that are to be printed on paper clay to create a book about the festival.

Stephanie Roberts

Other highlights included the Aberystwyth Arts Centre's exhibition "Y Gath Wedi Sgrapo Joni Bach - The Cat Scratched Little Johnny". which featured much of the homegrown talent to be found in the host country. Of the 43 included, many are of international stature and emerging talents such as Claire Curneen (winner of the Ceramics Monthly International Competition award for sculpture) ensure the future is secure. The Centre also houses the University of Wales' extraordinary permanent collection and has a craft gallery which are alsways worth a visit. Trade stands were well visited, and the North and South Wales Potters had a delightful exhibition. The guest artists had their own displays of work for sale, and many visitors went away clutching permanent memories of the weekend.

Helen Smith

Outside of the opening and closing ceremonies, the most well attended lecture was that by Mich Casson. Entitled "How did we get here and where are we going? - One potters view of the 20th century", it was so popular the overcapacity crowd couldn't fit into the assigned lecture theatre so he kindly agreed to a repeat performance during Sunday lunch hour in the main hall. Describing the track of studio ceramics from Bernard Leach to current trends as a landscape punctuated by plains, hills and mountains, where peaks included Hamada, Rie and Coper, the lecture was filled with personal experiences and anecdotes, making it anything but a dry history lesson. The general conclusion was that with opportunites like this "who needed lunch anyway".

It should be said that many of the artists were working under the difficulties of long distance travel and an unfamiliar language (five interpreters were needed), and they rose to the occasion with tremendous energy and good humour. Staccioli, for example, created a wjole row of horses across the table (dedicated to the British willingness to stand in line) and Pundurs declared his giant textured pot "an ice cream dedicated to the festival".

left: Dainis Pundurs and his "Ice Cream"
below right: Something for everyone in the trade marquee.

This was the seventh biennial International Ceramics Festival to have been held in the Welsh seaside town of Aberystwyth. Jointly presented by North and South Wales Potters and the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, it takes literally years of preparation. No sooner is one festival finished than the planning, evaluation and restructuring for the next event are underway.

Attendance at this year's festival is also worth a note. Over 100 Irish potters arrived en masse; groups from America, Israel and some 20 students and staff from the Danish island of Bornholm also made the trip. The weather was kind, and the bars open late, so conversation (so much a part of these events) could be held around kiln sites and demonstration tables. Some took the opportunity for a late evening stroll along the sea. Memories are made of this.

The author, Jim Robison, is an American born, long term resident of Yorkshire. He is a ceramic sculptor and educator and served as the Master of Ceremonies for the International Ceramics Festival. This article was first published in Ceramics Monthly.