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Unit X

Have you heard about The Radcliffe Red List of Endangered Crafts? I hadn’t, but through research I have learnt that many of the UK’s craft skills are at a high risk of disappearing. Heritage crafts including basket weaving, wood turning, button making and many more. Unit X is a collaboration of different areas of art, students from print, knit, weave and embroidery putting forward their own ideas and bringing their own skill set. As a group we began to voice our ideas and thoughts of endangered crafts and which themes interested us as individuals. On further discussion we decided to research Ceramics and Pottery. 

Pottery is considered one of the oldest human creations, first used for storing water and food thousands of years ago. It’s history is embedded in most countries and cultures especially China, Greece and Japan. Ceramics are part of functional material culture and the visual arts. In the early seventeenth century small towns in Staffordshire began to produce pottery due to the local availability of materials and minerals such as clay, salt, lead and coal. Later these small towns joined together and by 1800 were collectively known as Stoke on Trent, the then epicentre of pottery production for the entire world. Different materials were produced in sprawling factories, earthenware, stoneware, porcelain and bone china. However by the 1970’s production was in decline, the area saw mass unemployment as consumer taste changed and people wanted different things. Due to globalisation and cheap imports ‘The Potteries’ could no longer compete and yet another one of our heritage crafts descended into danger. 


                                  Artefact on display at the Manchester Museum 
                                       







                                                          The Potteries (1940)

Textiles and Ceramics both indicate social change through craft. Both political history and environmental issues can be displayed on both products. Unit X is a collaboration of students, this can be seen to be relevant in the professional world also. Different crafts and designers combining their skills to create new products and help each other evolve and grow. It is through joint ventures and support that our rich heritage of crafts in this country will survive and continue to prosper. We created mind maps to help visualise the project as a whole, considering other areas where ceramics may feature for example jewellery, tiles and beads. Trips to the art gallery and museum have proved very helpful with our research, examining old artefacts found in archaeological digs. Suggestions of a trip to Stoke on Trent would be beneficial in consolidating our knowledge of the industry and the social change it has encountered over the past century. 

Our world is constantly changing, and once thriving industries find they have to reinvent themselves to stay ahead of the game. They can only do this through investment from the government or private companies, research and innovation. They need to look for new niche markets and develop new ideas. Examples of this can be seen where ceramics have branched out into new areas such as medical and health supplies. Productions from new designers like Emma Bridgewater have overcome the general economic downturn and now is a multi million pound business. Another notable designer is Cath Kidston, with her iconic vintage floral design. She has collaborated with Royal Stafford to create a new earthenware range called Made in England. 
Emma Bridgewater
                                                                                              Cath Kidston

‘Can textiles fix ceramics?’


To a certain extent I think textiles can help ceramics. Through collaborations with popular designers such as Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidston, the industry has seen an improvement in production. We have to realise that all industries in decline and at risk of disappearing all together need to reinvent themselves and by collaboration with other industries improve and evolve. The same designs can appear on textiles or pottery and can become part of everyday use. 

Throughout this research I have been inspired by the history of ceramics and it’s close connection with textiles. I intend to create samples that show textiles can fix ceramics through partnership, combining two heritage crafts of our country that need nurturing and steering in a new direction.



                                 Inspiration... where textiles collide with ceramics

             
                                           




















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