Talking Ceramics I

Talking Ceramics I

This unique and experimental book design embodies the ceramic process thus transporting the reader, ceramicist or not, into the mindset of a ceramicist at work. Watching the book slowly transform in your home oven provides the same exciting and surprising experience.

The book is now distributed across the world as a proud showcase of the EKWC’s impressive output, capacity and history.

Clay is a natural material and can be only controlled to a certain extent. Furthermore, the oven plays a major part in the ceramic process. Artists can spend weeks preparing their object yet when it finally goes into the oven control is taken out of their hands. Even the most experienced can open the oven after a weekend of firing to find disaster. We wanted to capture this excitement, anxiety and surprise in this book design.

Consequently, the reader must bake the book in their oven at 65 degrees before reading. Only then will they experience the dramatic transformation from stark white to black, revealing the cover design.

A special edition emphasises the theme ‘mistakes’ with the inclusion of a 1mm thick sheet of porcelain as the front cover. Not only does it require baking to reveal the design but inevitably, whether through the sheer weight of other books or mishandling the cover will crack. Consequently, the reader, like the ceramicist learns to accept and appreciate the beauty of mistakes.

The book’s layout plays with this fragility, splitting Dutch and English texts over pages and positioning content precariously close to edges.

A book that you must bake in the oven - this how we celebrated the rich history and relocation of the European Centre of Ceramics (EKWC).

The EKWC has been a prominent centre for experimentation with ceramics for almost 50 years and has a vast array of previous artists-in-residence who have pioneered this material. Talking Ceramics I discusses the experiences and most importantly mistakes these artists have encountered during their time at the EKWC.

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