The Glasgow School of Art. The grey, dreary yet gorgeously asymmetrical Art Nouveau building has been intimately linked with art and design since its inception in the mid-19th century.

Throughout the years, the school has been responsible for “producing” some major talents, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh, hyper-realist Jenny Saville or Simon Starling, recently involved in an art project in Valletta with the MCA.

So, on learning that Scottish artist Bill Brown – who, until recently held the position of Glasgow School of Art’s head of ceramic design – was invited to deliver a series of talks and workshops at Ċeramika Maltija, I scarcely needed to feign my interest.

Ahead of the trip to Malta, Mr Brown takes some time to share his thoughts concerning art and history; design and identity; form and function and naturally... ceramics.

Describing ceramics as a “timeless material”, Mr Brown explains how “objects made a thousand years ago (or more) can often look and feel as fresh as they did when first made. We can literally find the fingerprints of Bronze Age potters, see the objects as they saw them – what we cannot do is understand them as they did.”

“Objects change their identities and status over time; the things we make have different meanings, the communities of makers have different places in society and a craft that is ‘high art’ in one time and place can be the lowliest of manual work in another... ceramics outlast just about every other medium.... Whatever we make now may well be around in a couple of thousand years’ time and will inevitably gain status in the process. Potters do have the last laugh.”

But what about his personal artistic style? “I like to think that I have no consistent and recognisable personal style and that each series of work will be autonomous. I am learning as much now as when I first started working with ceramics; the urge to explore new aspects of it still forces my work to change in response to what I discover.”

Yet his fascination with ceramics also stems from the possibility of approaching ceramics from so many different angles.

“Not only from the perspective of a studio craftsman but also as product designer, technical researcher, artist, historian, archaeologist... I have flirted with all of these and though I wouldn’t claim to be a world expert at any one of them, I have had a great deal of enjoyment from weaving various combinations of the strands together and exploring the possibilities that the medium has to offer.”

Nevertheless, Mr Brown concurs that there’s still an ambivalence towards the place of function in ceramics. “Many of the functions traditionally performed by ceramics have become obsolete; some practitioners feel that their status as artists would be compromised by making objects that are physically functional, some feel that tableware (for example) can now be bought so cheaply that it would be pointless for a small-scale producer to attempt to compete. At the same time, we are aware of the beautiful, functional objects that have been made throughout history and still draw inspiration from them.

“I think we must remember that there are many different kinds of function. Nowadays, nobody buys an Alessi kettle just to boil water in; 200 years ago nobody bought a Meissen dinner service simply to eat their food from.

“The function of European porcelain was originally to proclaim the wealth and power of its owners – later perhaps more about transforming the presentation of food into an art form or a ritual. Objects function as communicators of ideas as much as some are tools for performing practical tasks.

“They can proclaim our status, our identity, our community – we can also sometimes wear them, decorate our homes with them or drink our coffee from them.”

With so much passion and expertise, I wonder what participants can expect from Mr Brown’s workshops/presentations in Malta next month.

“I’d like the workshops in Malta to be a discovery session for us all. I hope that experienced artists and craftspeople will find things they can make use of in their work; the techniques and technology that we’ll be exploring don’t require great skill or experience and are just as accessible to people with none.”

Originally from Shetland, Mr Brown explains that “identity is important... something we may have in common is the perspective of islanders – the heightened awareness that geographical isolation can give us. I’d like to explore the implications that perspective for design – particularly for ceramics, which is sometimes an island of practice in the art and design world as a whole”.

Mr Brown expressed that it was “a great privilege to be invited to come to Malta and to be part of the first edition of Malta Design Week.

“Design is a rapidly changing area, it’s crucial for our cultures and economies and I am delighted to be part of an event that will raise awareness and help to include more people in the process of shaping our future.

“This will be my first visit to Malta, and in October, I’d come from Scotland for the climate alone. Everyone knows of you as a holiday destination but it’s a completely different kind of experience to visit and be part of the working community... It’s a very exciting prospect, I’m looking forward to it eagerly.”

• Bill Brown is visiting Malta at the invitation of Ċeramika Maltija at Villa Bologna for a month-long project involving ceramic workshops and training supported by the Malta Arts Fund; he will be giving two presentations as part of Malta Design Week. For more information visit: www.ceramikamaltija.com and www.maltadesignweek.com