Sundee Faulkner, owner of Bermuda Clayworks, got to thinking about the general public's conception that ceramics is a medium for churning out souvenirs, and resolved to do something to correct and broaden such a limited view, so she planned to bring to Bermuda some salt-glazed pots created by Walter Keeler and Jane Hamlyn and exhibit them at her business.

"The purpose was to educate the public that not all craft in Bermuda is generated for the tourist souvenir market, and that there is a high calibre of local skill in this craft," she says. "I felt that ceramics in Bermuda needed to be recognised as not only on par with its international counterparts but also on the same playing field as other mediums when it comes to exhibition and public art exposure in Bermuda

"Defining ceramics as "a technical craft which requires not just talent but a knowledge and skill for design, functionality, form, recipes, temperatures and the properties of one's raw materials", Ms Faulkner notes that "if one element is incorrect there may not be a final product".Attributing the erroneous belief that 'pottery' and 'ceramics' are two different things to "cultural exposure", the businesswoman assures that both terms refer to the art of making clay items.

"There are various techniques of pottery/ceramic making, such as wheel throwing, slip casting, hand building. There is studio pottery, production pottery, and commercial ceramics; as well as numerous types of clay: earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, bone china, basalt and paper clay.

"Exploration of the idea of exhibiting works by Keeler and Hamlyn first revealed that the price tag was too high, so Ms Faulkner then approached Diana Eccles of the British Arts Council to see if she could borrow a few pieces."She offered me the whole pie: 'Everything But ...' an internationally touring 'Design Exhibition of Contemporary British Kitchenware', which also proved too large and too costly for me to bring to Bermuda on my own, so once again I asked if I could go back to my original idea and borrow just a few ceramic pieces," she says.

This time the British Arts Council was happy to oblige, and even allowed Ms Faulkner to select the ceramic pieces she wanted to include in the (name of exhibition), which opens in the Bermuda Society of Arts' Edinburgh Gallery on Friday evening and continues through September 24.Even so, because the collection is of such value, Ms Faulkner felt that bringing it to the Island for just three weeks would not be worth it, so she has arranged for it to move on to the Kaleidoscope Art Foundation's (KAF) Elliot gallery in Devonshire for a further two months.

Since the purpose of the exhibition is to provide a comparison with our local ceramicists' international peers, Ms Faulkner then knew she had to create a show which would include local artists, so she has expanded the original concept to include novices and schools at the second venue because she feels the educational component is also important."I wanted local artists to be inspired, not intimidated, by the British Arts Council artisans' work," she says.

Thus it is that the following Bermuda artisans have been invited to exhibit: Carlos Dowling, Jon Faulkner, Julie Hastings-Smith, Monika Landy, Suzie Lowe, Jonathan Northcott, Helle Pukk and Christine Wellman will be included.Coming from the British Arts Coming from the British Arts Council is the work of 16 artisans, whose countries of origin include the UK, Germany, Japan and Zimbabwe.Invited British artists are Jane Hamlyn (guest lecturer), Jeremy Nichols and Dartington Pottery.Ms Hamlyn is a salt glaze potter who enjoys an international reputation as a leading exponent of contemporary ceramics.

She has been a full-time ceramacist for over 30 years, specialises exclusively in salt-glazed stoneware, and is widely known for her functional pots. Her colourful work is primarily wheel-thrown, but also incorporates textured surfaces, rouletting, and her now-famous modelled handles.Ms Hamlyn travels extensively throughout the world as a workshop demonstrator. Her work is represented in numerous public collections in the UK, including London's Victoria & Albert Museum, and also abroad. Her Bermuda engagements (October 16-18) include a workshop at Dockyard, giving a workshop demonstration at Bermuda Clayworks, and holding a slide show/meet the artist event at the Frog and Onion Pub. Ms Hamlyn will also attend the KAF opening reception, and give a presentation during the sponsors' reception, also at KAF.

Jeremy Nichols makes salt-glazed domestic pots, mainly teapots, and various pouring and drinking vessels, all of which are intended to be visually interesting and pleasurable to handle and use. Originally trained as an aeronautical engineer, his former profession both influences the way he makes pots, and the sense of physical and visual balance he aims to achieve in their design.Dartington Pottery in Devon, England was originally established in the 1930s.

Expanded in 1947 by Sam Haile and his wife Marianne de Trey, it is the latter who established Dartington's world-renowned apprenticeship programme.Dartington offers a full range of reduction stoneware utilising reactive glaze effects. Its work is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, as well as numerous private and public collections.