The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 52 No 1 April 2013

Education
Susan St lawrence (DCA 2010, BA 2011), M en, 2010
slipcast from original sculpture, earthenware, engobe
h.3Ocm w.IOcm, d.IOcm; photo: artist
Below: Ann O'Sullivan (DCA 2012), Whiskey Flasks, thrown
altered, porcelain, underglaze and glaze. soda and woodfired
tallest: h. 16cm; photo: artist
Ideally, there would be a range of options to
choose from, but the chances of new programs
starting up are not good when there are barely
enough ceramics students to keep one program
up and running nationwide. Rather than
stretch further what the ASP offers, it would
be constructive to form partnerships with art
and design schools so students could shape
their own courses depending on where they
find themselves on the functional-conceptual
spectrum. There are currently ways to crosscredit
classes between institutions, but it can
be confusing, and lays the burden of initiative
on the students. With co-operation between
schools, standard programs could be developed
that could be available - and marketed - to
incoming students. W ith most academic funding
in New Zealand dependent on the number
of full-time students an institution can claim,
this would be challenging. There may be other
options as well. Creative thinking and sharing of
ideas (with people facing similar issues in other
countries, as well as in our own) are called for
to keep ceramics education not only alive, but
relevant.
http://suzydunser.com
www.ceramics.co.nz