About this Journal

Welcome to Issue 9 of Interpreting Ceramics . In this issue we are publishing papers presented at the College Art Association in New York on 16 February 2007. At this event five emerging ceramicists gave presentations about their work. However, all five of the speakers went beyond a discussion of their own particular interests to consider the unpredictable and fluid boundaries that the field of ceramics offers to the contemporary artist. You will be able to hear as audio clips the original presentations of the artists, as well as read their texts, edited and reconsidered after the event, and published here as illustrated articles. You will also be able to read and hear Walter McConnell’s introduction to the proceedings. Mary Drach McInnes gives a succinct overview of the field and she has also edited for publication the panel discussion, led by her, in which all five artists participated.

The debate in New York was informative and stimulating and we would like to invite you to continue that debate through the pages of Interpreting Ceramics . To make your contribution please use the Join our group discussion page or go straight to the form to fill in at Registration and Feedback page. We are offering a ‘moderated discussion’ rather than a live debate, so your text will not appear immediately on the Interpreting Ceramics web site. We shall endeavour to publish as much as possible of the material that you submit but we reserve the right to edit where appropriate, for example, on the grounds of length of contribution.

Interpreting Ceramics is an initiative of a group of academic staff in the UK who have joined together under the title of Interpreting Ceramics: Research Collaboration (ICRC). Our collaboration has come about through shared research interests in recording, interrogating, interpreting and communicating the practice and history of ceramics.

The members of ICRC are committed to exploring ways in which collaborative effort, on both a national and international level, can lead to broader and more interdisciplinary research into all those categories of human activity which are indicated by the term ‘ceramics’. ICRC has an interest in any practice or mode of inquiry which brings a social and cultural awareness to bear on the manufacture and consumption of objects made from ceramic materials. The fields covered would therefore include studio, industrial, architectural, traditional, sculptural and figurative ceramics as well as the relevant branches of anthropology, archaeology, material culture studies, museum studies, archiving etc.

The journal Interpreting Ceramics is the first outcome of the collaborative work of ICRC. It is the first refereed, electronic journal for ceramics and in publishing on the Internet the journal allows contributors to exploit the possibilities of new digital media as well as offering more traditional text based approaches. The journal is freely accessible, without charge. We aim to establish and maintain the highest scholarly standards for the content of the articles published. Four institutions have joint proprietorship of the journal and they are the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, the University of the West of England, Bristol and Bath Spa University College.

Editorial responsibility for Interpreting Ceramics lies with the ICRC committee, which currently consists of the members of the editorial team who are listed above. The editorial advisory board consists of thirty individuals, drawn from different disciplines, who together provide a wide range of expertise on ceramics in all its guises. A list of members of the board is provided on the web site.

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