Ceramics plays a dominant role in our everyday life as many people use to cook and eat with ceramics utensils. From the ovenware, cooking pot and canister in your kitchen to the coffee mug, teapot and rice bowl on your dining table, many if not all of them are made of ceramic. Yet seldom will we think about the relationship between the ceramics and the food or drink they contain, in neither an art-historical nor socio-cultural aspects.

This course aims to investigate the ways we utilize and understand ceramics in association with cooking and eating. From the ancient to modern time, people have been using ceramics as their basic utensils to cook and eat, resulting in the production of different forms of ceramics. Such ceramics, including the Chinese porcelain cup, the Japanese tenmoku, Mediterranean terracotta food vessels or the Southeast Asian pottery, reflects the perception in food of a particular culture. Moreover, the advancement of technology enables new production methods for ceramics which in turn may alter our habits in food consumption. By studying the form, design, composition and production method of all these ceramics, also working with clay to build and decorate a simple vessel with basic techniques, students will learn how to appreciate the objects but also their importance in terms of an art-cultural aspect.