Taking a graphic course is not a luxury for today’s ceramic artist, but a must. In this digital world, modern graphic techniques are necessary “know how“. And not only for typographers, (web) designers and other graphic designers, but for all creatives, including blogging ceramists like me.
A photo on Insta or FB, a logo or an info-graphic for a website, everything must first be designed or edited digitally. The possibilities are endless and the tools are constantly changing. I hardly saw the the forest for the trees.
Luckily I came across the platform graphic courses a few weeks ago. A teachers initiative from the graphic sector. They offer graphic training on various software packages, such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, but also WordPress, MailChimp and more.
It’s a guild of graphic designers. Makers like me, but experts in contemporary graphic design. I was invited by Angelo Spiler to follow one of their top courses.
A fun and educational experience… and not only for digital design, but also for making ceramics.
Old craft, modern graphics tools
Making ceramics is a very old craft, but marketing these products is no longer possible without modern graphic techniques. When I built my website in 2006 in FrontPage , I didn’t know that I had to learn (and continue to learn) so much more about digital design, social media and graphic tools.
Essential equipment of today’s ceramic artist is no longer only a kiln and a wheel, but also digital tools. And these are a whole bunch of different programs, apps and software packages.
So just as I have to keep my turning tools sharp, I also need to maintain my digital knowledge. A basic illustrator course was exactly what I needed.
Have you learned anything fun today?
Learning something new is always good. Especially in a small group with an inspiring teacher, (like Leonie Janse), who knows her trade. The two-day basic training of grafischecursussen.nl I took was useful, educational, but above all a lot of fun.
The location, “well@work Amsterdam” in the Rijnstraat was pleasant and light, the coffee good and the lunch perfect. You can also follow these courses at other locations. The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Breda to name a few. But these are not within cycling distance for me.
Enough about the location, the most important thing was the training itself. A combination of theory and “DIY”. My fellow students and I quickly got familiar with Adobe Illustrator. Although I had little prior knowledge of this package, now I ‘m familiar with the basic possibilities.
These where more than I thought beforehand. Not only can I use Illustrator to create logos, images and texts for my website, newsletter and social media. I can also use it as a digital “light box”. For self-made designs on ceramics, ceramic transfers and screen prints.
Creative: take a graphic course
A graphic course is instructive and increases your possibilities. I now understand why ceramic artist Grayson Perry can always be found behind his drawing tablet. It is not only fun, but it also has various applications in decoration and design of ceramics.
Design in clay inspires, but also “modern digital design” stimulates your creativity.
It is no coincidence that the first calligraphers, more than 5000 years ago, worked with clay tablets. Today’s ceramic artists still work with clay, but now with “digital tablets”.
But what remains the same? People must continue to learn to understand modern technology. Whether it’s a clay tablet with nail or a drawing tablet with input pen.
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