Tiny vases, monstrous sculptures and more: artists challenge our assumptions about pottery at luxury ceramics show in London

Category: Lifestyle/Entertainment

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Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. striking / ˈstraɪ kɪŋ / (adj.) – attractive and very noticeable, especially in an unusual or interesting way
    Example:

    She is wearing a striking red dress that made everyone at the party turn to look at her.


  2. inspirational / ˌɪn spəˈreɪ ʃə nl / (adj.) – relating to someone or something that makes someone feel hopeful or inspired
    Example:

    The teacher told an inspirational story about how a young girl overcame difficulties and became successful.


  3. collaborate / kəˈlæb əˌreɪt / (v.) – to work together with someone to create or achieve something
    Example:

    The author collaborated with a director to turn her novel into a movie.


  4. reassemble / ˌriː əˈsem bəl / (v.) – to put something back together after it has been taken apart
    Example:

    He carefully tried to reassemble the broken toy car.


  5. blow away / bloʊ əˈweɪ / (phrasal v.) – to impress someone or make someone feel surprised, especially about something they like
    Example:

    When she saw Mount Everest for the first time, she was completely blown away by its size and beauty.


Article

Read the text below.

Potters from around the world showed off their latest creations at Ceramic Art London, the largest high-end ceramics show in the UK. Returning to the capital for its 21st year, more than 6,000 people were expected to visit to see some of the best ceramic creations on sale.


Everywhere you look are beautiful ceramic creations, from functional vases, sculptural pieces, and abstract forms.


One of the most striking artists to display this year was Lucy Baxendale, whose interactive display of fantastical monsters impressed the visitors. This friendly-looking ceramic tree monster has a surprise—if you dare to stick your hand inside its mouth (don’t worry, he doesn’t bite!). By tickling the tonsils at the back of the monster’s throat, another head prints out a poetic and inspirational receipt for visitors to consider.


Baxendale, originally from Durham in the northeast of England, explains, “Yeah. If you put your hand into the monster’s mouth, it will print you out something that you can take away. And my hope is that that kind of spreads out into the world and maybe inspires something else.”


All of the riddle-like receipts were written by Baxendale, and she collaborated with her father (an electrical engineer) to produce her piece.


“What would a broken vase dream about? Sketch the cracked pieces and reassemble them into something new,” said one receipt.


A show visitor from Peru was blown away by the tree monster and said it was, “Super fun. I think this is amazing. Because behind the complicated work and the kind of like graffiti, tattoo kind of work, you find something very soft.”


Ceramic Art London is organized each year by the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain and continues to grow in size and importance. It ran from May 9 to 11 at London’s Olympia.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Lucy Baxendale collaborated with her father to add technology to her ceramic monster sculpture, enabling it to print poetic and inspirational receipts when touched. What do you think about artists adding technology to their work? Would it be okay with you if more artists added technology to their art? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think adding or using technology makes art more interesting? Why or why not? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • When someone touches the ceramic monster, it prints out a short poetic message that they can take with them. Would you like to experience this? Why? Discuss.
  • What kind of messages do you think the monster sculpture should print out for visitors (ex. inspirational messages, realistic life advice)? Would you take the monster sculpture’s message seriously? Why or why not? Discuss.