Focus Ceramics - Guus Kusters

We're in a ceramic workshop in Veghel, so outside of the academy building, for two days a week. For example, this semester, we had a student who worked predominantly digitally as this fits her practice. She started off on the throwing wheel, being confronted with the honesty of the clay and the process of throwing, and then decided to go back to the computer to develop video games that use a digital language to get to know the ceramics workshop and the craft of ceramics, exploring glazing and firing, and what it means to break something. Through this, she challenged ceramics through the digital realm. By the end of the semester, she returned to the throwing wheel where she experienced that her skills had improved because she had had the opportunity to explore the craft in the digital realm. Other students might take more traditional perspectives. Sometimes students come into the Focus with an idea and might develop a specific technique which they want to turn into a project during their graduation. Within the Focus, students start to acknowledge their own approach, making use of the space that we give them. 

Within the programme, there first is a series of workshops or master classes around basic techniques, because not everybody has the same experience in the craft. Then, there is a building period, where students are asked to experiment, to really play around. This process goes in iterations, always with a new range of experiments, nothing needs to succeed. We then ask the students to continue with one experiment. Even if everything ‘failed’ they will have conclusions which they can continue with. 

We work with six tutors who guide students from their own unique perspectives. Tutors might focus on technique and act as ceramic advisors, or give guidance from their artistic perspectives. None of the tutors represent or master the full scope of what the project asks for, so the student is fully in charge of the sum of their whole. I myself focus on bringing everything together to reflect on the students’ development. There are separate classes, not all of them are in the ceramic workshop, which also explore presentation and reflection of the semester. During the end term, the students focus on what the semester meant to them, what they will bring along and what they will leave behind. 

Reflection is an important part of the focus program and students always have the option to decide that ceramics is not their cup of tea, which can be a valid conclusion. The most important criterion for somebody to pass the Focus programme is whether they are well enough prepared to step into the process of graduation. The Focus programme is a particular part of the study, because students get the space to challenge their perspectives on design and explore how to define their practice. Of course, there's the medium and craft of ceramics in the room but students use it to question their approach by.  

Students may come from different backgrounds in design, as well as approaches to ceramics. It’s great to see them building relationships and helping each other as they share a space and have joint experiences. It works nicely to be on this island together.