About this Journal

Welcome to Issue 13 of Interpreting Ceramics. We are pleased to publish two articles that focus on aspects of ceramics in Wales. The first of these is entitled ‘Llanelly Pottery – A Welsh Metonym’. The author, Kathy Talbot, discusses the ways that the pottery manufactured in this South Wales town during the nineteenth and early twentieth century came to stand not just for the town itself, but also for a particular kind of Welsh identity which drew on a strong sense of nostalgia for its past. The second article on ‘Gaudy Welsh China’, draws on textual and visual evidence to explore aspects of the history, technology, design, decoration and interpretation of a ware that is also known as ‘Swansea Cottage’. Lewis’ account makes a major contribution to an understanding of a distinctive type of ceramics that is still better known and more widely collected in the USA than in the UK. The third article in this Issue is by Laura Gray and is an exploration of the ways that contemporary ceramicists have made and displayed work in response to what the author calls ‘the distinctive hybrid domestic-museum environment offered by former homes such as Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, High Cross House in Devon and Blackwell Arts and Craft House in the Lake District.

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.

top | Next

© The copyright of all the images in this article rests with the author unless otherwise stated

About this Journal • Issue 13