There is something magically alchemic about ceramics, which, in one way or another, utilises the four ancient alchemic elements of earth, water, air and fire.

If you have had the opportunity to be involved in the firing of a wood kiln, you will realise something of the primeval nature of the process, but at the same time, its communal nature as well. Firing a wood burning kiln takes many hours and requires constant attending of the kiln, the splitting of logs, the stoking of the fire and watching the cones to gauge the temperature of the kiln. The procedure naturally attracts an audience and often provides an occasion to party. A raku firing also often attracts the curious. Of course, there are other types of kilns such as gas fired and electric. The latter are more technically sophisticated, but has lower audience appeal, until that suspenseful moment when the kiln is opened. The outcome is never certain; some items are surprisingly successful while others come to grief.

Perhaps the term ceramics needs clarification. Studio ceramics as an art-form, is not about china, which is an industrial product; indeed, there is a considerable range of products produced by industrial ceramics. Studio ceramics, on the other hand, are produced of an artist, are hand-made and individually unique. The ceramic artist has given each item his/her particular artistic attention and none is ever exactly the same, although possibly similar to other objects in the studio.

Something of the magic of this process is currently on show in the Edinburgh Gallery at the Bermuda Society of Arts. The exhibition includes a selection of ceramics from the British Crafts Council, as well as pottery made by Bermuda based artists.

The original purpose of the exhibition according to the catalogue, 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."

Sundee Faulkner, the author of the catalogue, further suggests that ceramics in Bermuda needs to be recognised as being on a par with their international counterparts and on the same playing field as other media when it comes to exhibition and public exposure in Bermuda." In this I concur.

Traditionally, the arts have been ranked in a hierarchy with the so-called fine arts, (painting, sculpture, etc) at the top and crafts as something lesser. This attitude is further reflected in the difference in price a painting may fetch, as compared to a ceramic vessel. Paintings are usually considerably higher in price. I sense an increasing attraction to craft by the public, for these craft items are often considerably better crafted than many "fine art" objects and just as visually interesting.

This exhibition, itself, provides an opportunity to compare the works of our own potters with those from overseas and they stand up to this comparison very well indeed. We have every reason to be proud of what our local ceramicists are doing; deserve our enthusiastic support. The Bermuda ceramic artists are: Carlos Dowling, Jon Faulkner, Julie Hastings-Smith, Monika Landy, Suzie Lowe, Jonathon Northcott, Helle Pukk and D. Christine Wellman. Those in the British Craft Council exhibition are actually an international group, including artists from Japan, the United States, Ireland, Germany and Zimbabwe, as well as a host of artists from the United Kingdom. All seem to reside in the UK, however.

One particularly notable item is a platter by Robert Dawson, who originally comes from New York. The platter has within its design, what appears to be another plate, but shown foreshortened, as an elliptical depiction of the "willow pattern."

It seems that the "willow pattern" originated in England about 250 years ago, but was consciously made to look Chinese. Later, the design was picked by the Chinese themselves and used in making their export ware.

Another striking item is a large bowl by Daniel Fisher, who takes a wheel thrown bowl and manipulates the form so that it no longer has that wheel-thrown appearance.

Instead, it appears more as a rippled, white paper bag of some kind. It is made with porcelain, which I understand, is notably "short," that is, prone to break or crack in the unfired, making stage of the item. It does not have the tensile strength of other clays and therefore is difficult to use with large objects. Mr. Fisher seems to have found a way around this problem, however.

Jane Hamlyn, another guest artist from England, is showing examples of her salt glazed vessels. Her ceramics are simple in form, but characteristically elegant. Salt glaze is an unusual process, in that salt, the table salt kind, is thrown into a hot kiln. The salt then vaporises and comes into contact with silica in the clay, melts to form a glaze. Depending on the make-up of the clay, the glaze can be either gloss or mat and also vary in colour.

Of the Bermudian potters, I was especially drawn to a chalice by Helle Pukk. The salt glazed items by Jon Faulkner are also notable, not only for the mottled appearance of the glaze, but also the "wonky" tilt to some to his cups and pitchers. It is good to see Jonathan Northcott's work once again; he seems to have taken a hiatus from pottery making. I hope that he will soon be able to regularly utilise his impressive ceramic skills again

This show will be on exhibit in the Edinburgh Gallery at the Bermuda Society of Arts until September 24 and then at the Elliot Gallery, Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation, from October 14-November 24. It is certainly a worthwhile exhibition I encourage all to see. Additionally, Jane Hamlyn, will be at the opening reception at Kaleidoscope on October 16.