The Ceramics Workshop provides students with a stimulating environment and a wide range of opportunities to explore, work and research in the ceramics medium. Students are encouraged to become familiar with clay and glaze technologies and develop ways of working that are appropriate vehicles for their ideas. Graduates present work ranging from innovative figurative and sculptural pieces to finely made domestic vessels. Students are taught by professionally active staff of high reputation, and past students from the workshop have gone on to careers as studio artists, arts administrators, public and landscape artists, curators and teachers, as well as production throwers in design centres and commercial potteries. They have also won many prizes, and are well represented in public collections.

Students in the Workshop are enrolled in both undergraduate, Honours and postgraduate programs. The first two years of study in the undergraduate courses are structured around projects - ensuring all students have competency in both wheel-based and handbuilding techniques. Salt-firing, woodfiring, blackfiring, soda firing and raku are just some of the kiln technologies used and a formal Glaze and Clay Technology class is compulsory for all students . All projects have a conceptual rationale, and students are encouraged to articulate their ideas in regular group and individual critiques. In the final year, an individual work proposal (IWP) — developed in consultation with staff — structures the year, and it is expected that students will become increasingly autonomous in their work.

Diploma students work on projects for the first three semesters in addition to completing the Glaze and Clay Technology course, and then they develop a work proposal in their final semester. The Diploma is also offered in part time mode, two evenings a week.

The workshop has frequent excursions to conferences, seminars and exhibitions as well as encouraging all students to participate in those events initiated in the workshop itself. Participation in these events helps to develop professional organising, curating and liaising skills as well as increasing confidence professional conduct.

Distance Diploma Pathway
In addition to on-campus courses, the Ceramics Workshop also conducts a Distance Ceramics program, based on the part time Diploma. This is an exciting and innovative course, which also draws on the best of national and international tutors during the intensive nine day residential schools conducted each semester.

For further information. Contact: Janet.Deboos.