Ceramic Competitions, an issue of Function ?

Sue Sellschop's grandchild Oliver sitting on my Ceramic Sculpture

titled Dog, Press moulded and burnished Ceramic Sculpture,

fired to 1000 degrees celsius.

(collection Sue Sellschop)

Through the eyes of a child even the most complex work can have a more simple obvious function. We often tend to complicate matters, especially when it comes to determining the meaning and significance of ceramic art, design and or craft. We tend to classify ceramics as expressive and therefore nonfunctional. These terms often get created to separate the various groupings of work as part of entries to competitions. Is it utilitarian, sculptural, expressive and or decorative. We forget that ceramic products can function on many levels (depending on the artist's intent) - utilitarian, decorative, ritualistic and or expressive.  Work that  is nonfunctional is in fact useless. It would seem the Mino competition organisers got it right - any comments!

Dog, burnished earthenware 30x70 cm (1990). 
collection Sue Sellschop.

There are many national and international competitions coming up. The National Ceramic Awards Exhibition 2010 (South Africa) opens today, Sunday 10 October 2010 - The Gallery at Grande Provence - Heritage Wine Estate Franschoek South Africa. Good luck to all that entered. Winners to be announced at 11:00 am. The next big competition is the 9 ^th International Ceramics Competition of Mino, Japan. Entires can be submitted from November 1, 2010 until January 10, 2011.

Categories are;

• Ceramics Design, Factory. Design entries for factory produced pieces with practical functionality (items produced mainly on the machinery of a factory assembly line)
• Ceramics Design, Studio. Design entries for studio produced pieces with practical functionality. (items from individuals, mainly produced by hand in small quantities).
• Ceramic Arts. Entires for ceramic art works that incorporates unique creativity and techniques.