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The third edition published in December 2012, by Bloomsbury and UPP updated the book for the twenty-first century with all new images and text. The publication shows what is possible with print and ceramics, building knowledge from basic transfer concepts to develop material understanding. Images in the text have been selected to highlight thought-provoking work alongside the illustrative.

REVIEWS

“The recognition of print techniques as an integral part of current studio practice is largely due to Scott’s campaigning.” – Ceramics in Society magazine No 37 1999, p 6

“A valuable addition to the technical literature on Ceramic Art” – Review of Ceramics and Print for University of Pennsylvannia Press 1995

“The fundamental strength of Scott’s book lies in the detail and diversity of current print possibilities…. A welcome addition to the potters library.” – Emmanuel Cooper, Crafts Magazine May/June 1995

“For the printmaker, the book offers a rich potential for developing the 3D print and facilitates the popular trend for the one off print.” – Review in Printmaking Today Vol 4, No1 1995

“Paul Scott’s Ceramics and Print (A&C Black 1994) has been a significant manual and Scott an important figure in giving new credibility and forcefulness to the ceramist exploring the printed image.”  – Ceramic Review 188 March/April 2001 p39

“A seminal text within its field, the revised and extended version of Ceramics and Print builds further upon the ground-breaking precedent it set down upon its initial publication. Originally demonstrating the use of paper, clay and printing within studio ceramics, Scott now embraces the information age that is the 21stC, detailing the most recent technological developments in this stimulating area, covering photocopiers, laser decals, flexography and digital techniques within ceramics today. Incorporating a number of high resolution images selected from old and new methods, Scott re-situates the area of ceramics within contemporary culture.” – Ceramics in Society review of Ceramics and Print

The book is widely available from usual suppliers
also in Spanish, (Gustavo Gili ISBN 84 252 1707 5: )
and German (Haupt Verlag ISBN 3 258 06263 3)

It investigated the journey of images through histories and geographies, including the work of contemporary artists who make reference to the genre. A book Horizon, Transferware and Contemporary Ceramics examining issues raised by the curation was published by Arnoldsche Art Publishers in January 2015. Launches were held at the New York Glass and Ceramics Fair with Ferrin Contemporary, and the V&A in London to co-incide with the opening of exhibition Blue and White, British Printed Ceramics.

EXHIBITIONS
Horizon, Landscapes, Ceramics and Prints,
National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway, June 2013–April 2014

MADE IN CHINA,
Ferrin Contemporary at the New York Glass and Ceramics Fair, 2015

Blue and White : British Printed Ceramics,
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England, Year

PUBLICATIONS
Horizon, Transferware and Contemporary Ceramics, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, January 2015

The book took an extensive overview of the contemporary (graphic) ceramic scene, as well as the figures and movements that have influenced it. In exploring the use fine artists like Picasso, Miro, the Cobra Group, Conrad Atkinson and others have made of ceramics, it also examined the relationships artists have had with the pottery industry, from Soviet Revolutionary Propaganda ware, to collaborations at the Wedgwood Pottery Company. It highlighted a wide range of work by contemporary ceramic artists, painters and printmakers from around the world.

Painted Clay, Graphic Arts and the Ceramic Surface, Paul Scott A&C Black, (ISBN 0 7136 4754 X) Watson-Guptill USA ( ISBN 0-8230-3921-8) 2000.

REVIEWS
“If someone shows you an alternative view to established facts and you immediately recognise and understand what they are saying, it is a sure sign of this person’s power of insight. Paul Scott’s new book is one such case…. In a number of areas this book is very impressive – Scott’s collation of texts and images is outstanding…. An invaluable reference book… The range and nature of the visual material is rich and highlights some lesser known but fascinating pieces, many breathtaking in their expression and virtuosity…. This book is a celebration of the narrative power of ceramics, historically an important area within the discipline that has been suppressed for too long.” – Felicity Aylieff in Ceramic Review 59, July/Aug 2001 p 59

“It is evident that Scott is fascinated by ceramic materials and their use; he writes with feeling on painting in enamel colours, its recipes and artistic manifestations on European porcelain…The book is stimulating and unites a generous field of international work.” – Margot Coatts,  Crafts Magazine 61, July/Aug 2001 p 62-62

“An excellent overview of a huge subject. The text is supported by many fine photographs with substantial captions describing the makers’ intentions and methods…. A useful and timely contribution to the literature.” – Dr Kevin Petrie, in Printmaking Today summer 2001 p 33

“An important contribution to the ceramics debate. Scott offers a refreshing and colourful look at ceramics, which acknowledge and undermine conventions and tradition. He has a sweepingly internationalist outlook, confronting the reader with an irreverent juxtaposition of chapters…. Studio pottery purists will no doubt object to Scott’s reckless championing of political and satirical comment expressed in vases plates, panels and tiles…. The message of this highly enjoyable book is that paint and other graphic decoration is not superficial, but totally integral to the global understanding of ceramics.” – Paul  Vincent, book review in Contemporary Ceramics in Society Spring 2001 p 5

“Beautifully researched and very interesting…” – Marianne de Trey, personal communication

“A wonderful book…” – Dr Irmela Franzke, Badisches Landesmueum, Karlsruhe, Germany, personal communication

Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s) Cow in a Meadow After Thomas Bewick

My PhD research was funded by a MIRIAD bursary from 2004 to 2007.

It was a synthesis of practice based, historical and critical investigation. Created to satisfy specific institutional academic guidelines it is (as with all PhDs) presented in a very formulaic manner, and a snapshot of my research at a particular time. It does however form a basis for my ongoing investigation and future publications. Please read my Musings on a PhD – from my blog.

RELATED DOWNLOADS
Thesis

Exhibiton PDF

Musings on a PhD, Blog Post

Please note these files are being made available for individual research purposes only. Please  cite appropriately if thesis and/or other resources used in publication and/or exhibition. If referenced, it will be our pleasure to Please feel free to share how and where the work was utilized via cumbrianbles@mac.com.

The image quality of these digital files has been compromised to allow for reasonable download times. Access to artworks in real space (as opposed to the virtual) is of course much recommended.

Detail (inverted) of a ‘scotch print’ taken from an engraved copper plate of the Picnic pattern in the Spode archive.

An artistic and documentary investigation into the ceramics industry’s pattern and print archives. Ongoing research, part funded by Arts Council England.

This ongoing project has involved investigations into the Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum, Rörstrand, (both Sweden), Egersund (Norway), Sphinx/Regout (Netherlands) and the Spode Museum Trust in Stoke on Trent.

Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s) Ting Tang Upcycled Slotte Trash Willow, Stanbul

Artistic research examining the re-use of broken and discarded ceramic material, as well as old repair and conservation techniques.

Before the advent of modern glues, broken ceramics or glass objects were drilled, wired, stapled or riveted together, textiles used to be darned or patched. Home-made or improvised ‘make do and mend’ repairs were made to a loved plate or jug and finer variations of these techniques used by serious conservators. The preciousness of these intimately repaired objects faded with time and in conservation circles practices which interfered with the ‘integrity of the object’ became actively discouraged and disapproved. A few years ago, in spite of their beauty, rivets in plates and wired handles hugely devalued a piece of antique tableware. In some museum collections even the evidence of a staple or riveted repair would be removed and hidden if new conservations took place.

In more recent times, as we struggle to come to terms with our over consumption of finite resources, the concept of re-cycling has become a central tenet of modern life. There is an increasing interest for crafted, restored, once loved objects so that the obviously repaired,‘traditional’ processes again appear beautiful, functional and intriguing. Whilst their display is not yet common in our public museums, private collections and interests are building. Enthusiast Andrew Baseman has a comprehensive archive of beautifully repaired glass, and ceramic objects, which he makes available to wider public though his wonderful blog.

For many artists, re-cycling and reuse has long been a natural part of practice; as well as ecological soundness, trash is generally cheap (if not free). Existent, damaged worn or broken objects carry messages, they have already had a life and carry evidence of their journey in material fabric. This realised physicality can be used or exploited in aesthetic form, as conceptual device or collateral evidence. Discarded graphic material has long been used in collage and more recently material from industrial archives are also being used to create new iterations.In a classic text Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, Michael Braungart and William McDonought argue that industrial products not designed with re-use in mind are actually downcycled. In Cradle to Cradle they outline an alternative recycling vision involving an endless loop of resource reuse where products are designed to be eventually dismantled, reclaimed and their component parts either re-used or composted. They suggest that some materials can actually be effectively up-cycled: not dematerialised but rematerialised into something more valuable.

Paul Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s) artwork and writing has featured in several exhibitions including: Ting Tang Trash, The Nature of Mending. In 2015 and 2016 Paul curated exhibitions in Liverpool and New York New York.

An investigation of old conservation methods of repairing ceramic forms – stapling and wiring for a project called The Nature of Mending. Exhibition at Walford Crafts – September 14 – October 27 2013. Invite here.