More Academic Choice by Crafts Study Centre

MORE ACADEMIC CHOICE Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Crafts Study Centre

MORE ACADEMIC CHOICE Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Crafts Study Centre 29 March to 10 December 2016

CONTENTS Introduction 4 Exhibition selectors

Adrian Bland

Simon Olding

Kimberley Chandler

Stephen Knott

Loucia Manopoulou

Jean Vacher

Sharon Ting

Ă slaug Thorlacius

Angie Wyman

Simon Ofield-Kerr

Victoria Kelley

Acknowledgements 51

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INTRODUCTION The collections of the Crafts Study Centre cover a diverse range of materials from ceramics, furniture, textiles to letter carving and calligraphy. They are supported by very significant archives both from craft studios and craft organisations such as Guilds and specialist galleries. Dr Glenn Adamson has called the Centre ‘Britain’s memory bank for craft’, with the word bank ‘suggesting a vault containing untold riches’. The vault has been opened for this exhibition by an individualistic group of academic staff from within and outside the University for the Creative Arts. Some have specialist knowledge of modern and contemporary craft, and some are experts in other fields such as contemporary photography and fine art. They have selected a compelling and idiosyncratic body of work for the exhibition, drawing across the whole range of the collections, and observing them and writing about them with critical insight and sometimes personal accounts. It is a means of looking at the collections in an entirely new way.

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EXHIBITION SELECTORS Adrian Bland, Co-ordinator, Contextual Studies, UCA Professor Simon Olding, Director, Crafts Study Centre, UCA Kimberley Chandler, Design writer and AHRC-funded PhD student, University of Brighton Dr Stephen Knott, Writer, Editor, Journal of Modern Craft and Lecturer, Kingston University Loucia Manopoulou, MRes Crafts, UCA Jean Vacher, Curator, Crafts Study Centre, UCA Sharon Ting, Course Leader, BA Textiles for Fashion and Interiors, UCA Ă slaug Thorlacius, Director, Reykjavik School of Visual Arts Angie Wyman, Course Leader, BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery for Fashion, Interiors, Textile Art, Royal School of Needlework Professor Simon Ofield-Kerr, Vice Chancellor, UCA Dr Victoria Kelley, Reader in the History of Design and Material Culture, UCA

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ADRIAN BLAND Sympathetic Primitivism? Modern Craft and the Importance of ‘Other’ “Gauguin is always poaching on someone’s land, nowadays, he’s pillaging the savages of Oceania” (Pissarro, cited in Perry, 1993: 29) Primitivism, described as a “western interest in, and/or reconstruction of, societies designated ‘primitive’ and their artefacts” (Perry, 1993: 5) has a well established role within art historical discourse. The term is complex, and might be employed to engage with eighteenth and nineteenth century orientalisms, or the more intuitive creativity ascribed to “the more fundamental modes of thinking” (Rhodes, 1994: 8) from the untutored mind of the child or the ‘outsider’, but it is perhaps most associated with an avant-garde of modern art that sought to address western modernity in terms of “the discontent of the civilized with civilization…it is the belief of men living in a highly evolved and complex cultural condition that a life far simpler and less sophisticated in some or all respects is a more desirable life” (Lovejoy & Boas, 1935, cited in Rhodes, 1994: 20). This is seen as the basis for all manner of artistic practices, from the popular appeal of “the going away” (Perry, 1993: 8), exemplified by Gauguin’s travels to Brittany and then, further afield, to Tahiti, to the formal appropriations of African sculpture made by Picasso in 1907’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and the ‘innate’ spontaneity celebrated by expressionism. “I love Brittany,” Gauguin had claimed, “I find something savage, primitive here” (Gauguin, cited in Perry, 1993: 8).

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Notions of finding and appropriating seems particularly significant in relation to the artistic avant-garde of Europe, in that they demonstrate modernity’s “taste for appropriating or redeeming otherness, for constituting non-western arts in its own image” (Howell, in Hiller, 1991: 233), and ‘primitivism’ is, of course, fundamentally “eurocentric, revealing a western-centred view of an alien culture” (Perry, 1993: 5). In this sense, in approaching other cultures, artists usually found what they wanted to find, and it has been argued that “primitivism in modern art has traditionally been seen in the context of artists’ use of nominally primitive artefacts as models for the development of their own work” (Rhodes, 1994: 7). A nominal ‘otherness’ seems evident throughout a great deal of primitivism, attesting to the “cultural assumptions and prejudices” (Perry, 1993: 5) of a western art market dominated by the concept of originality. Central to such cultural appropriation (we might call it mis appropriation) is the degree to which “modernist primitivism depends on the autonomous force of objects… on the capacity of tribal art to transcend the intentions and conditions that first shaped it” (Varnedoe, cited in Perry, 1993: 4). Modern artists often “had limited ethnological knowledge or interests, and what knowledge they had was filtered through the institutional machinery, taxonomies, selection processes and colonial politics of contemporary museums” (Perry, 1993: 58). At stake here is the very concept of context because, with reference to artistic tendencies at least, “such beliefs grant no status to cultural context. Ideas concerning the primitive are the products of the western mind…they tell us much more about ourselves than about the primitive people they are supposed to explain” (Howell, in Hiller, 1991: 233).

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In relation to such art historical discourse, the Crafts Study Centre collection affords a fine opportunity to consider primitivism from a perspective that might be deemed more sympathetic towards contextual value, and it is this that has informed my selection of objects. Certainly, there is strong evidence that the studio crafts shared, even embraced, a range of beliefs and practices in common with prevailing attitudes, from “the going away” (Perry, 1993: 8) evinced by Bernard Leach’s abiding relationship with Japan, Ethel Mairet’s travels in the Balkans in the late 1920s, or Michael Cardew’s appointment as ‘Pottery Officer’ in Nigeria in 1950 during which he established the Abuja Pottery, to decorative appropriations such as the spontaneous calligraphic brushstroke or the fish motif here articulated by both Cardew and Henry Hammond. Attitudes could also be shared, with Leach claiming that the East “could exercise a wonderful influence upon the soulless mechanical output of Europe” (Leach, cited in Harrod, 1999: 35), while Phyllis Barron’s intentions were to “simplify and primitivise” (Harrod, 1999: 29) block printing. But it might also be argued that, rather than being constrained by (or imposing) western conventions, the focus of these craftspeople on materials, processes, skills and lifestyles, perhaps of more import with craft discourse, allowed the studio crafts to transcend the bounds implied by ‘eurocentric’ primitivism, play down the emphasis on individualism, and approach ‘otherness’ not as a means of “having authority over” (Perry, 1993: 4), but as a way to love, learn and celebrate very human acts of making. This would certainly seem to be suggested by the degree of research and collecting undertaken by so many, from Barron and Larcher’s regular visits to the V&A libraries

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and French markets, to Peter Collingwood’s ethnographic collection of over 730 items from around the world, and his published accounts of their construction. Leach revealed his first experience of a Japanese Tea Ceremony as magical “the direct and primitive treatment of clay” and went on to declare that “By this, to me a miracle, I was carried into a new world…” (Leach, cited in Cooper, 2003: 69). It is perhaps such open-armed approaches to ‘other’, the desire of these makers not to appropriate from a “vantage point” (Perry: 1993: 5) but to assimilate, and this with respect, that assists in arguing for differences within art and craft discourses, yet permits the placement of studio crafts firmly within the framework of a cultural modernity. Bibliography and further reading Cooper, Emmanuel (2003) Bernard Leach: Life and Work New Haven and London: Yale University Press Flam, Jack (2003) Primitivism and Twentieth Century Art: A Documentary History California: California University Press Goldwater, Robert (1986) Primitivism in Modern Art Harvard: Harvard University Press Harrod, Tanya (1999) The Crafts in Britain in the Twentieth Century New Haven and London: Yale University Press Howell, Signe (1991) ‘Art and Meaning’ In: Hiller, Susan (ed.) The Myth of Primitivism London: Routledge. pp. 215–237 Perry, Gill (1993) ‘Primitivism and the ‘Modern’ In: Harrison, Frascina and Perry (ed.) Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 3–85 Rhodes, Colin (1994) Primitivism and Modern Art London: Thames and Hudson

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Rubin, William (1984) “Primitivism” in Twentieth Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern New York: Museum of Modern Art Torgovnick, Marianna (1991) Gone Primitive: Savage Intellects, Modern Minds Chicago: University of Chicago Press Selected by Adrian Bland 1. Woven cotton horse fringe “mukhiarna” Maker unknown, 20th century Pakistan Peter Collingwood Ethnographic Collection 2004.202.444 2. Basket with shoulder handle, square section with two strand handle; base; 2/2 interlacing, sides held by weft twining Maker unknown, 20th century Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan Peter Collingwood Ethnographic Collection 2009.22.77 3. Bag with interlacing with 2/2 twill (pointed) with black weft Goat’s hair and wool. Bhuj, Kutch district, Gujarat, India Peter Collingwood Ethnographic Collection 2004.202.14 4. Beer strainer with loop for hanging 2-ply warp, plysplit darning Botswana, Southern Africa. Maker unknown, 20th century Peter Collingwood Ethnographic Collection 2009.22.101 5. Travel journal kept by Ethel Mairet, Yugoslavia, 1930 The Papers of Ethel Mairet. 2002.20

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6. Circular table mat Aasan work, raiding in plant fibre. Maker unknown, late 20th century Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India Peter Collingwood Ethnographic Collection 2004.202.274 7. Fish trap of split bamboo with attached handle Essentially a cicular construction flattened together and closed at one end and at the other, the canes turn inwards to form a narrow entry point. An internal ring at the entry end and towards the closed end hold the shape and are attached with a row of weft twining. There are an additional 5 rows of weft twining, evenly spaced, to hold the canes in place. Maker unknown, 20th century Africa Peter Collingwood Ethnographic Collection 2009.22.77 8. Hand-block printed length Linen, indigo dye, “Girton”. Barron and Larcher, 1920–40 T.74.2096 9. Hand-block printed length of velvet with a positive print in black Barron and Larcher, c.1930 T.74.211.c 10. Stool, pierced base and thrown central column and handles around the outside Stoneware, dark body and chun glaze overall excluding base. Michael Cardew, 1965 P.74.133 11. Tablet woven belt Cotton and animal fibre, possibly indigo and natural dyes. The design is made up of warps floating front and back forming diamond shapes throughout. The warp is dyed red, black, green, yellow, shades of blue. West Serbia (formerly part of Yugoslavia)

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Maker unknown, early 20th century Ethel Mairet Source Collection 2004.202.35 12. Book: Textiles and Weaving Structures: A Sourcebook for Makers and Designers Collingwood, P. B.T. Batsford Ltd. London, 1987 Crafts Study Centre Library 13. Brush painted fish, possibly a trout, in oxides, on one side of the pot Henry Hammond, 1984 P.89.4 14. Textile sample Made from balloon cotton, mordanted with gall and handblockprinted in iron using a wooden block. Enid Marx, 1930s TS.76.46.b 15. Rectangular bottle Small standing neck with inverted rim, stoneware, white glaze. Bernard Leach, 1969 P.75.103 16. Round-shouldered bottle with small hanging neck Stoneware, white slip, brushed iron decoration. Bernard Leach, 1960s P.75.101 17. Hand-woven womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belt Maker unknown, early 20th century Kosovo (formerly part of Yugoslavia) Ethel Mairet Source Collection 2004.202.48 18. Hand-block printed scarf Hand-sewn, brown ground with yellow zigzag pattern on crepe. Barron and Larcher, 1923â&#x20AC;&#x201C;30 T.77.53

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19. Large dish Slipware with a foot ring, green-brown with white slip trailed decoration under a clear glaze and black slip over a red earthenware clay body. T. S. (Sam) Haile, 1945â&#x20AC;&#x201C;6 P.80.2 20. Vase, round-shouldered with shallow rim Stoneware, white body, light pepper-coloured glaze overall. William Staite Murray, 1924 P.74.57 21. White and brown plate with shallow rim Stoneware, flecked grey ash glaze overall. Michael Cardew, 1962 P.74.126

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SIMON OLDING In 1979 the Crafts Study Centre held an exhibition curated by Barley Roscoe called Pots of Inspiration in its then home of the Holburne Museum, Bath. The exhibition revealed, for the first time in public, an extraordinary collection of Bernard Leach’s personal collection of pots. These pots, generously gifted to the Crafts Study Centre by Leach himself, shortly before his death, are the subject of this selection. Leach remarked that these works ‘have stimulated me, and have given me inspiration, as I hope they will do now for other potters’. The pots were arranged throughout the Leach Pottery in St Ives, or in his flat. They were used as pots for teaching and touching. David Lewis remarks how ‘Bernard would reach for pots by his old friends Hamada, Tomimoto, and Kawaii, but also for the Korean stonewares, Chinese Sung and old English salt glazes and slipwares, which he had collected, ostensibly, to demonstrate the range and longevity of utilitarian form-language’ (Lewis, 1991: 50). This wonderful private collection gathered together pots that Leach purchased or was given from the awakening time of his interest in ceramics in Japan, China and Korea from 1916 onwards. He used them as indicators of ‘standard’ and quality; as personal mementoes; as teaching aids in the working pottery, or to enlighten an argument. The collection was dispersed eventually. The major portion came to the Crafts Study Centre. Other pots were given to friends and fellow potters. The great Korean Moon Jar was loaned to Lucie Rie and kept in her showroom at Albion Mews, London and then passed on her death into the ownership of Janet Leach. It is now in the British Museum.

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This display is an elegy to Bernard Leach. It represents a current research interest, as I am gathering information about the pots in this collection and the story of their distribution and effects. Selected by Simon Olding

All from the Bernard Leach Source Collection 22. Bowl Porcelain, engraved celadon glaze. Unknown maker, Koryo dynasty Korea P.79.37 23. Ginger jar Porcelain/stoneware with white glaze, brush decoration of an island and boats in blue. Unknown maker, 19th century China P.79.16 24. Engraved bowl Porcelain, Ching Pai ware, design engraved under glaze. Unknown maker, Song dynasty China P.79.11 25. Cutsided octagonal bottle Porcelain, white glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.49 26. Tripod incense burner Porcelain, white glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.39

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27. Rice bowl that has warped Porcelain, white glaze, brush decoration of willow tree in underglaze blue on each side. Unknown maker, 17th century Arita, Japan P.79.60 28. Jar Stoneware, brush decoration of grapes in copper and red. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.46 29. Vase Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.44 30. Decorated bottle vaze Porcelain, brush decoration in blue. Unknown maker, Qing dynasty Fired in a southern provincial kiln, China P.79.14 31. Cup with handle Porcelain, brush decoration in blue. Early example of Chinese export ware. Handle added to traditional bowl for foreign tea. Unknown maker, 19th century China P.79.24 32. Cup Porcelain, brush decoration in blue. Early example of Chinese export ware. Handle added to traditional bowl for foreign tea. Unknown maker, 19th century China P.79.23

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33. Octagonal cutsided jar Porcelain, decorated in underglaze blue. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.38 34. Water sprinkler Square, decorated porcelain, white glaze, brush decoration in underglaze blue. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.34 35. Dish with cutsided (8) foot Porcelain, character for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in underglaze blue in centre. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.43 36. Small dish Earthenware, green lead soda glaze with iridescent patina. Unknown maker, Han dynasty China P.79.6 37. Cup and stand Porcelain with engraved celadon glaze. Unknown maker, Koryo dynasty Japan P.79.32 38. Large, shallow, circular bowl with narrow foot Semi-porcelain, pale celadon glaze, engraved decoration in Sung style. Unknown maker Fukien, China P.79.20

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39. Small bowl Porcelain, celadon glaze, incised flower and foliage in centre and around form. Unknown maker Korea P.79.47 40. ‘Willow pattern’ plate Porcelain, brush decoration in blue, made for export to USA. Unknown maker, 18th–19th century China P.79.15 41. Circular water sprinkler Porcelain, white glaze, design of bats in under glaze blue. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.33 42. Pair of blue and white vases Porcelain, brush decoration in underglaze blue, for use on an altar or shrine. Unknown maker, 18th century Arita, Japan (probably obo kiln) P.79.59 & 59a 43. Square water sprinkler Porcelain, white glaze, brush decoration in underglaze blue. Unknown maker, 18th–19th century Korea P.79.34 44. Small blue and white plate Porcelain, kylin and surround in underglaze blue. Unknown maker, Ming dynasty China P.79.17

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45. Bearing for the spindle of a potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wheel Porcelain with white glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.40 46. Water sprinkler Porcelain with white glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.35 47. Bowl with high foot Porcelain with white glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.50 48. Wine pot Porcelain, inlaid celadon decoration. Unknown maker, Koryu dynasty Korea P.79.36 49. Dish Stoneware, celadon glaze, flower incised in centre. Unknown maker China P.79.25 50. Plate, provincial ware Stoneware, seal pattern around rim made with a potato cut, brush decoration in centre. Unknown maker, 18thâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;19th century China P.79.21

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51. Lidded teapot with cane handle Stoneware, brush decoration by Minagawa. Unknown maker, 1930s Mashiko, Japan P.79.57 52. Decorated peasant jar Earthenware, sgraffito figures round form. Unknown maker, 20th century China P.79.8 53. Summer tea bowl Stoneware with yellow glaze. Unknown maker, 18th century Seto, Japan P.79.55 54. Cutsided (14 sides) lidded pickle jar Stoneware with ‘ame’ glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.45 55. Bowl Stoneware, tenmoku glaze. Unknown maker, 12th–13th century Fukien, China P.79.2 56. Large two-handled mug Slipware, trailed decoration and lead glaze. Possibly Fishley Holland Pottery, 20th century UK P.79.66 57. Small bowl Stoneware, tenmoku glaze. Unknown maker, 12th–13th century Fukien, China P.79.3

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58. Salt pot Traditional English slipware with trailed decoration. Penrith Pottery, 20th century UK P.79.71 59. Oil bottle Stoneware with inlaid celadon decoration. Unknown maker, Koryu dynasty Korea P.79.30 60. Oil bottle Stoneware with matt tenmoku glaze. Unknown maker, Koryu dynasty Korea P.79.31 61. Tea bowl Stoneware Given to Bernard Leach by Shoji Hamada. Unknown maker Korea P.79.48 62. Large pitcher jug Slipware, sgrafffito decoration of a farm and animals round form. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fill me with liquor sweet for that is good when friends do meet. When friends do meet & liquor plenty - fill me again when I.B.M.T.â&#x20AC;? inscribed round form beneath handle. William Fishley Holland, 1940s Clevedon, Somerset, UK P.79.65 63. Tea bowl Stoneware with copper green glaze. Unknown maker, 19th century Shimane Ken, Japan P.79.63

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64. Pot with pricked strap handle Possibly earthenware, sprinkled with green glaze. Unknown maker, 13th–14th century Possibly Cheam, Surrey, UK P.79.70 65. Dish Stoneware, seto ware, painted in brown and blue enamels and showing a weeping willow tree. Unknown maker, 19th century Seto, Japan P.2000.1 66. Oven dish Slipware, slip trailed decoration, ‘Bony Pie’ pattern. Bernard Leach Source Collection Unknown maker, 18th century P.79.72 67. Oil lamp dish Stoneware, brush decoration. Unknown maker, 19th century Seto, Japan P.79.51 68. Teapot Stoneware, tenmoku glaze. Unknown maker, 1930s Japan P.79.53 69. Oval milk pudding basin Slipware, combed decoration. C.H. Brannam Limited, 1920s North Devon, UK P.79.67

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70. Oil dish Stoneware, cream glaze, brush decoration, ‘horse eye’ pattern. Unknown maker, 18th–19th century Seto, Japan P.79.52 71. Large lidded teapot with cane handle Chatter pattern. Unknown maker, 20th century Japan P.79.64 72. Decoy bird whistle Slipware. Unknown maker, 18th century UK P.79.73 73. Wine bottle Stoneware with tenmoku decoration. Unknown maker, 20th century China P.79.10 74 Bowl Stoneware with tenmoku over khaki glaze, overglaze wipe-off pattern. Tang ware, 7th–10th century China P.79.5 75. Bottle-shaped vase Stoneware, brush decorated celadon. Unknown maker, Koryo dynasty Korea P.79.42

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76. Divided vegetable dish Traditional English slipware, trailed decoration. Unknown maker, 19th century Possibly Sunderland, UK P.79.68 77. Vase, cylindrical Slipware, inscribed with the words: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mr. T. Gutsell Senr November 3 1803â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Patterns of stars inlaid around form. T. Gutsell, 19th century UK P.79.74 78. Water jar for use in Japanese tea ceremony Stoneware. Unknown maker, 18th century Tamba, Japan P.79.54 79. Tea bowl Stoneware, brush decoration of plum blossom on exterior in black, white and blue. Ogata Kenzan VI, 1910s Tokyo, Japan P.79.61 80. Bowl Stoneware with slip glaze, brush decoration in iron. Unknown maker, 1934 Hong Kong P.79.1 81. Decorated bottle Stoneware, made in Formosa by Chinese immigrants. It is an imitation of a Tsu Chou, Chinese, 12th Century vase. Brush decoration around form Unknown maker, 20th century Formosa P.79.9

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82. Small engraved dish Porcelain, design engraved under glaze, Ting ware. Unknown maker, Song dynasty China P.79.7 83. Engraved bowl Ting ware, porcelain. Unknown maker, 11th–12th century China P.79.12 84. Ash pot Stoneware, black and white sgraffito decoration around form. Pattern derived from 12th century traditions in Korea and Japan. Ogata Kenzan VI, 1910s Tokyo, Japan P.79.62 85. Lidded pot with knob Stoneware with brush decoration. Unknown maker, 14th century Swankhalok, Thailand P.79.75 86. Pillow, Sung Tz’ou Chou ware Stoneware, brushed decoration in iron. Unknown maker, 11th–13th century Heibei Province, China P.79.19 87. Decorated lidded jar Stoneware with brush decoration, Tzu-Chou ware. Unknown maker, Ming dynasty China P.79.27

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88. Spouted jug Stoneware with green glaze. Unknown maker, 20th century Canton, China P.79.26 89. Bowl Stoneware with red and green enamel on white slip. Unknown maker, 18th century Inugama, Japan 90. Tea bowl Stoneware with copper green glaze Unknown maker, 19th century. Shimane Ken, Japan P.79.63 91. Water sprinkler Porcelain, blue, brush decoration of mountains. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.29 92. Rice bowl Stoneware, chun glaze. Unknown maker, Yi dynasty Korea P.79.41 93. Teapot Stoneware with oxidised green glaze. Unknown maker, 1954 Onda, Japan P.79.58 94. Swatow dish Porcelanous stoneware. Decorated in turquoise and red enamels. Figure of Kwanyin on lotus in centre. Unknown maker, 16th century P.79.18

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95. Swatow deep dish Porcelanous stoneware. Turquoise and red enamels. Decoration of seals around rim in red. Landscape, with mountains in distance in centre in turquoise. Unknown maker, 16thâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;17th century China P.79.22 96. Canton teapot with lid Stoneware, copper green glaze. Unknown maker, 20th century China, bought at Malacca P.79.13

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KIMBERLEY CHANDLER This modest selection of pots with their ash glazes by Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie and Norah Braden represent, for me, the quiet strength of women makers between the wars, as well as the gendered nature of much of the history of British studio crafts. Pleydell-Bouverie and Braden, who both apprenticed with Bernard Leach at St Ives in 1920s, were part of a group of ‘brilliant eclectic modernists’ (Harrod, 2015) – including the weaver Ethel Mairet and the textile printers Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher – who played a significant role in twentieth-century crafts, but are often overlooked. Pleydell-Bouverie (or ‘Beano’, as she came to be known) and Braden worked closely together between 1928 and 1936 at Beano’s pottery at the Mill Cottage in Coleshill. They developed a distinctive collection of wood and vegetable ash glazes, many of the recipes for which are now in the Crafts Study Centre collections by virtue of Beano’s fastidious note taking. Barley Roscoe, former Director of the Holbourne Museum and CSC, describes how Leach came to call on Beano’s accumulated knowledge and technical expertise when writing the section on ash glazes in A Potter’s Book (1940), which is testament to their competence and creativity. Here are two women who were greatly admired by their male peers, and whose influence can be felt in one of the most significant texts in British studio ceramics. Let’s hear it for the girls! Further reading Tanya Harrod, The Crafts in Britain in the 20th Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999)

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Moira Vincentelli, Women and Ceramics: Gendered Vessels (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000)

Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie: A Potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Life: 1895â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1985 (Crafts Council, London, in association with the Crafts Study Centre, Bath, 1986) Selected by Kimberley Chandler 97. Bowl Stoneware, buff clay, transparent glaze with crackle. Norah Braden P.94.5 98. Bowl with cover Stoneware with ash glaze. Norah Braden P.74.152 99. Glaze samples Stoneware with ash glazes. Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie P.74.191 A-W 100. Barrel-shaped vase with a narrow base, wide neck and flattened, everted rim Stoneware, transparent glaze about two centimetres from base over a band of decoration brushed with blue-black (possibly cobalt and iron) pigment. Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie, 1960s Kilmington Manor, Kilmington, Wiltshire, UK P.84.5 101. Wide bellied bottle with narrow neck and everted rim Stoneware, green-black and brown, box ash glaze to about three centimetres from base with manganese oxide splashes. Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie, 1930s Coleshill, Berkshire, UK P.84.4

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102. Bowl Stoneware, grey glaze, free brush decoration in dark brown. Norah Braden, 1930s Coleshill Estate, Coleshill, Berkshire, UK P.75.38

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STEPHEN KNOTT After receiving the invitation to select objects from the Crafts Study Centre’s archive for this exhibition, I knew that I wanted to bring Mr. Mercer’s simple earthenware jar out of storage. I saw the vessel at the Centre during my postdoctoral fellowship there and was struck by its simplicity and the fact that it was made at Norbiton Potteries and Brickworks in Kingston upon Thames, on London’s south-west periphery. Mr. Mercer was a Surrey flowerpot maker who in the 1910s taught Denise Wren, who later set up the Oxshott Pottery with her husband Henry in the early 1920s, how to throw. It represents, in my mind at least, the vernacular, everyday roots of Wren’s studio craft, reflective of a different, and indeed more humble means of acquiring craft skills. Only a few aspiring makers were lucky enough to be under the tutelage of a Bernard Leach or Michael Cardew. Monumentalising this pot is a curtain produced by Ethel Mairet’s weaving workshop, an object that recalls the weaver’s pioneering instruction and use of vegetable dyes. The rest of selection can also be read as educative objects: Lucie Rie’s buttons – an alternative form of production that enabled her to test out some of her glaze recipes on a smaller scale; a model of the workshop and kiln at Abiko produced by Bernard Leach during his famous course of instruction in Japan in the 1910s, and Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher’s assortment of fabric fragments. As objects that are part of the learning process they also have experimental and playful qualities. I wonder whether Leach in his latter years looked back at the ashtray he produced in the 1920s – also included in this selection – with the mixture of embarrassment and fondness any maker feels towards their early efforts in a medium?

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Bibliography and further reading Stephen Knott, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Upper Class, Middle Class, Lower Class, Evening Class: Supplementary Education and Craft Instruction 18891939â&#x20AC;? Journal of Modern Craft (7.1) Ethel Mairet, A Book on Vegetable Dyes (London: Douglas Pepler, 1916) Rosemary Wren, Barley Roscoe and Margot Coatts, The Oxshott Pottery: Denise and Henry Wren (Bath: Crafts Study Centre, Holburne of Menstrie Museum, 1984) Selected by Stephen Knott 103. Model of workshop and kiln at Abiko Raku, incised decoration and coloured with red and blue slip on a cream background. Bernard Leach, 1910s Abiko, Japan P.75.68 104. Collection of buttons Earthenware, decorated with different glazes. Lucie Rie, 1940s London, UK P.95.8.1-3, P.95.9.1-3, P.95.21, P.95.24, P.95.12.1-3, P.95.16.1-5, P.95.29.1-8 105. Fabric fragments Barron and Larcher T.74.142b-c 106. Jar Earthenware, unglazed, incised decoration, abstract Celtic design on shoulder. Mr. Mercer, 1910s Norbiton Potteries and Brickworks, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, UK T. 74.142b-c

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07. Cigarette stand, inverted rim Slipware, light and dark slip decoration on inverted rim. Bernard Leach, 1950s Matsai, Japan P.75.51 108. Length for curtain Black, natural and white, plain leno weave, black and white cotton warp and natural fine cotton gimp. Rita Beales, late 1940s T.74.104

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LOUCIA MANOPOULOU Taking a line for a walk I was intrigued when I was asked to select items from the Crafts Study Centre collection for the More Academic Choice show. I have recently discovered and was fascinated by the Centre’s eclectic collection and was captivated by the stories of the items and their makers’ lives. By creating a window to observe and understand British craft history and culture, the collection articulates an amalgam of the old and the new as a distinctive element of its character. One of the most beautiful aspects of the English culture appears in Leigh Hunt’s poem Jenny kiss’d me. The poem fascinates with its simplicity in form and multiple layers of meaning. The austere verse surprises as it reveals such deep emotions in so few words. Keeping tradition and heritage by remembering and sustaining history, while at the same time constantly changing, discovering, and accepting the new and the different, is how I perceive and understand Englishness. My aspiration is to share my excitement discovering Englishness through crafts with the viewer. The selection highlights these elements of English culture, and reveals its idiosyncratic silent power. The selected objects reflect these values and form a group, speaking a common language. I decided to present a playful, between-the-lines conversation, borrowing Paul Klee’s quote ‘Drawing is taking a line for a walk’. It will express and share the excitement and obsession that conquered Bernard Leach when he moved from etching to English slipware. Leach’s brush lines reveal an unexpected, yet naive power and warmth. The excitement vividly expressed by Hunt in Jenny

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kiss’d me, when the young lady kissed the writer during an unexpected visit. Irene Wellington’s calligraphy, Bernard Leach and Lucie Rie’s ceramics, and Ethel Mairet’s and Peter Collingwood’s textiles are taking their lines for a whimsical walk. All items share elements in their laconic designs, acknowledging the importance of simple beauty. A glimpse of poetry is noticeable in Leach’s brush strokes and Rie’s exquisitely designed lines. Simple beauty is conveyed masterfully in Wellington’s calligraphy. Selected by Loucia Manopoulou 109. Mountain Gorge in Mist Etching. Bernard Leach 2012.4.7 110. Shallow, circular slab dish Buff clay earthenware, interior coated with white slip, overlaid with lead honey-coloured glaze. Wavy, combed stripes across dish revealing white slip through glaze. Bernard Leach 1920s St. Ives, Cornwall, UK P.88.3 111. Ryusei Kishida Etching. Bernard Leach Leach/Redgrave edition, 1980s 2012.4.11 112. Jenny kiss´d me Panel on mounting card, with a large decorative ‘J’, the main text in large black italic, and the first line and the poet’s name in red. Irene Wellington C.84.175

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113. Storm in Venice Etching. Bernard Leach, 1910 2015.4.17 114. Bowl Porcelain, glazed inside with manganese and copper; unglazed outside, incised lines inlaid with crimson-coloured pigment. Finely incised vertical lines on interior and foot, and pin-incised lines inlaid with crimson stain pigment on outside. Lucie Rie, 1970s London, UK P.76.2 115. Small, flared bowl Porcelaneous stoneware, brown and white, manganese glaze. Lucie Rie, 1950s London, UK P.85.11 116. Saucer Porcelain, manganese overall with incised lines towards centre, white glaze on foot. Lucie Rie, 1950s London, UK P.74.120 117. Cup and saucer Porcelain, white body, exterior of cup and upper face of saucer manganese. One of a two-part set. Lucie Rie, 1950s London, UK P.74.114.b 118. Cylindrical, footed box Porcelain, manganese glaze overall, excluding inside rim. Lucie Rie, 1960s London, UK P.74.115

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119. David Proof of an engraving of David Leach. Bernard Leach Produced for the Crafts Study Centre LA.11405 120. Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;amor che move il sole e lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;altre stelle Offcut of vellum, now flattened and mounted. Large writing around bottom edge with smaller writing upside down at top. Originally folded on right side, with more small writing over. Irene Wellington, 1950s Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK C.84.104 121.Tablet-woven braid Red, purple, orange and yellow wool. Number nine of a selection of 10 samples of tablet weaving. Peter Collingwood, 1980s Nayland, Colchester, Essex, UK T.82.9 122. Hakone Lake Etching. Bernard Leach Leach/Redgrave edition, 1980s 2012.4.9 123.Hand-woven length of dress material Red cotton, with weft stripes of undyed Cheviot wool. Ethel Mairet, 1930s Ditchling, Sussex, UK T.74.82.a

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JEAN VACHER Craft practitioners and their personal libraries The Crafts Study Centre is home to an intriguing collection of books once owned by some of the makers whom it represents. On one level they are a resource for all who wish to use the Centre’s reference library. On another, the assembling of these bibliothèques offers an insightful way of looking at the personalities of their previous owners, of their working practices, passions, tastes, interests. They impart a particular moment in time. These ‘libraries’ are wide in the subjects matters covered. They include technical reference books, art and design histories, natural histories, writings on ethnography, archaeology and the philosophy of craft, as well as such classics as the Collected Works of William Morris. They once graced the bookshelves of the potter Bernard Leach, textile artists Ethel Mairet, Susan Bosence, Alice Hindson and Amelia Uden, the etcher Robin Tanner and the letter carver David Peace. Browsing the Centre’s library shelves I am taken with the antiquity, look and feel of a book published in France over 200 years. Its owner was Alice Hindson (1896–1984) who in the first half of the 20th century pioneered the art of drawloom weaving. She had attended the Central School of Art and Crafts in London in the early 1920s to study drawing, lettering and wood engraving and met Luther Hooper whose handbook Handloom Weaving (1910) was reinvigorating this particular and intricate form of weaving. Whilst working with Hooper she compiled a manuscript of notes and drawings recording the period 1925–9. The beautiful and neatly illustrated pages of this manuscript book describes in detail her drawloom built by Eric Sharpe and her designs in Chinese silk.

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At some point in her career and as part of her loom researches Hindson acquired Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, Les Arts Liberaux et les Arts Mechaniques, avec leur explication. Published in Paris in 1772 at the time of the Enlightenment, and part of the ‘Encyloped’ series, this volume is in every sense a technical manual on 18th century silk weaving, a source of knowledge for the weaver, containing crisply- drawn and detailed black and white illustrations, some of them pull-out, relating to the production of handwoven silk. It embodies a combination of artistic and technical creativity that I would like to think appealed to her way of thinking. Selected by Jean Vacher 124. Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, Les Arts Libéraux et les Arts Mécaniques, avec leur explication Book, bound in leather, published by Chez Briasson, Paris, M.DCC. LXX11 (1772) 125. Sheet of notes relating to silk weaving, handwritten in pencil on paper Found at front of Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, Les Arts Libéraux et les Arts Mécaniques, avec leur explication and probably written by Alice Hindson. Undated 126. Weaving Notes Illustrated manuscript book, bound in leather, ink on J. Whatman paper. Alice Hindson, 1925–30 2002.19 127. Portfolio of hand woven silk samples, Weaving by Alice Hindson on various drawlooms Undated 2003.12.1

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SHARON TING Makers’ familiarity? As a newly appointed Course Leader of the BA Textiles for Fashion and Interiors and a Textiles Advisor on the CSC acquisitions panel, I anticipated selecting objects would be a mission impossible. What could I bring to More Academic Choice; which ‘head’ should I put on to make my selection? There are just too many covetable objects. Thankfully, without hardly any procrastination, I found these items almost immediately. I actually think that these pieces chose me. They spoke to me simply as a maker. They said ‘I am a seed of an idea, a firstborn piece and I have been taken much further by my maker to develop other work.’ As makers, we all have that ‘first seed piece’ that later transforms into the shoot of a new idea. With my own ‘seed pieces’ I have a total familiarity and ‘umbilical’ connection. This is what I see reflected in the pieces that I choose. A chance spotting of a rather old dusty, shoe box, on top of a pile of other brown boxes, revealed a treasure of delicate, hand cut, printing linos, obviously used to create those firstborn ideas, carved by the hand of Susan Bosence herself. A flattened, woven scarf, right at the bottom of a bouncier collection of Makeba Lewis’s scarves, also spoke to me of a ‘first seed piece.’ In my academic role, I am constantly reminding my students, ‘do not throw your mistakes away!’ The focus tends always to be on the end thing, on achieving that ultimate final outcome. What about that seed piece? That firstborn idea, that doesn’t quite look right, that usually goes wrong and gets put to the bottom of the pile? The one thing that we made without thinking too much. Where would we be without that piece! 40

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Selected by Sharon Ting 128. Experimental handwoven piece Grey, lavender and black silk and steel yarn, double cloth and satin/ sateen structures used. Woven in 2004 at Falmouth. Makeba Lewis, 2004 2013.11.2 Experimental handwoven piece Grey and red in silk and steel. Makeba Lewis, 2002 2013.11.3 Experimental handwoven piece Yellow and silver in silk and steel. Makeba Lewis, 2002 2013.11.4 Experimental handwoven sample Yellow, grey and white silk and steel yarn. Makeba Lewis, 2001 2013.11.5.1 Experimental handwoven sample strip Yellow, orange and white silk. Makeba Lewis, 2001 2013.11.5.2 Two silk card windings showing the warp sequence for the Tate’s ‘Turner Landscape’ scarves Makeba Lewis, 2009 2013.11.7.1-2 129. Box containing tie pattern, small blocks and samples Susan Bosence

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ÁSLAUG THORLACIUS Having accepted the flattering invitation of the Crafts Study Centre to become a guest curator in the exhibition series More Academic Choice, I faced two serious obstacles. Firstly, I live in Reykjavík and don’t have easy access to the Centre’s collections. Secondly, being educated as a visual artist I am no expert in crafts. The first problem was easily solved. I could review the collection on-line and Professor Simon Olding was willing to give me a helping hand. I thought about the second and more difficult problem for a while and came to the conclusion that I could do it from the perspective of the director of a school teaching both art and crafts, a school that has strong ambitions for its students and is constantly urging them to research, be innovative and to experiment with materials and techniques. To be able to do this they must start with building up a good knowledge of traditions and a proficiency in the relevant field and that is the school’s responsibility. The Crafts Study Centre plays a role in preserving such expertise and from that point of view my choice is made: to exhibit working tools of great masters of craft or a collection of items that includes instructions or guidance or that reflect the fundamental principles of visual art. It has been a challenge for me to take part in this project. Simon Olding´s guidance has raised what would only have been an amateur´s choice up to the level of an academic´s choice. I thank him for that.

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Selected by Áslaug Thorlacius 130. Large box: Cube in a Cube Madrona and anodised aluminum veneer, plywood carcass. Fred Baier, 2011 2012.1 Purchased with the financial support of the Art Fund and the V&A Museum Purchase Fund

131. Cut-sided bowl with vertical ribbing Stoneware, yellow grey with rose ash glaze. Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie, c.1937 P.74.142 132. Notebook Containing notes on eight lectures, the first dated August 23 1959: geology for the potter, [clays], silica, felspar, glazes, stoneware bodies, Oxshott Pottery and, at the back of the book, geological tablets, a clay recipe, and notes on ‘Paul’s lecture’. 1966 KPB/1 133. Collection of buttons Earthenware, decorated with different glazes. Lucie Rie, 1940s London, UK P.95.12.1-3, P.95.7.1-3, P.95.29.1-3, P.95.26.1-3, P.95.20, P.95.19, P.95.30.1&3, P.95.15.1&3, P.95.10.1-2, P.95.17.1-3, P.95.27.1-3, P.95.25.1-3, P.95.9.1-3, P.95.22, P.95.31.3&5 134. Pair of plaster button moulds For production of unfired curved tubular-type design with hidden shank fixing. Made for Lucie Rie by Rudolf Neufeld to her design, c.1940 2002.14.1-2 135. Hand-woven dress or furnishing length White, grey and blue wool, with warp-stripes. Rita Beales, 1973 T.74.301

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136. Spinning wheel Owned and used by Rita Beales. c.1929 2004.46 137. Collector’s cabinet Ebony and steel made by Alan Peters at the height of his interest in inlaying metals. Alan Peters, 1975 2006.25 138. Display sideboard: Canti II Olive ash. Made from six pieces of wood: a plank for a surface supported on a beam which in turn is supported by a four-piece tapered column. Matthew Burt, 2008 2008.24 139. Coffer Sweet chestnut. Plain plank top over a horizontal panelled front raised on a plain plan side. The floor is Cedar of Lebanon (often used for blanket chests). The end plank on the top is quarter sawn. It bears a copper plaque to the underside ‘The Gordon Russell Workshop, Broadway, Worcestershire’ and was possibly made by an apprentice. Gordon Russell Workshop, 1930s 2015.3 140. Unbound duplicate pages from Phyllis Barron 1890–1964 Dorothy Larcher 1884–1952: A record of their block-printed textiles, Volume One, compiled by Robin Tanner. Page 49: ‘‘Basket” Small and large versions of this design were cut, of which this is the smaller. Printed in brown on natural linen, and in black on fine natural cotton (this is the third block designed and cut by Dorothy Larcher).

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Page 89: “Leaf” (Larcher) Ink on figured and on balloon cloth. “Carlos” Brown on natural and red on white linen. “Posy” (Larcher) Black on yellow silk first printed with “Rich” design in red. Page 33: “Girton” Printed on heavy natural linen. c.1920–40

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ANGIE WYMAN Alice Kettle – Paradise Lost It was an honour to be asked to select work for More Academic Choice. It was important for me to select a work from within my own discipline of embroidery, to align with both my own practice and the Degree course which I run at the Royal School of Needlework. I have chosen Paradise Lost by Professor Alice Kettle (2012). Kettle creates vast panoramic works of stitch which take the viewer on a visual journey. Lines of thread lead us through the composition and enable us to become intertwined with the narrative. The work creates subtle suggestions and metaphors for future contemplation. The layers of stitch are allusive and suggestive, with a fluidity and ethereal quality which can be both ambiguous and intriguing – enabling interpretation and reflection. The works connect the viewer with historical narrative and powerful contemporary issues. Don’t be seduced by the fact that it is ‘just a needle and thread’. Kettle has contributed so much to the advancement of textile research and practice internationally throughout her career. Her work is held in public and private collections throughout the world, including a small treasured piece in my home in Cumbria. Selected by Angie Wyman 141. Paradise Lost Stitch on fabric Alice Kettle, 2012 Loaned by Professor Alice Kettle

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SIMON OFIELD-KERR The Gay Bowl Emmanuel Cooper died in in January 2012, five months after I joined UCA as Vice-Chancellor. On hearing of his death, I immediately bought the small blue bowl here on display. I wanted to commemorate not a personal connection, we only met once, but a research relationship that has informed my academic career, which had brought me to UCA. Originally, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know Emmanuel as a potter. For me, he was first the author of the The Sexual Perspective: Homosexuality and Art in the Last 100 Years in the West, which was published and I acquired in 1986, when I was 20 and had just begun my degree in Fine Art at Exeter College of Art and Design. The book was at first a secret pleasure and became a guide, increasingly public, through my developing interest in Art History and Gay Studies, directing my attention and informing the focus of my postgraduate research. In his book, Emmanuel explores a correlation between the developing possibility of gay identity through the twentieth century and its expression in the art produced by artists, mostly men, who identified themselves as homosexual, queer and gay. To make a very rich book too simple, the thesis is that the artistic representation of sexuality becomes more open and accessible as the possibility of an open gay identity is more confidently established. This is a thesis that is foundational, through agreement and respectful critique, for many practitioners in the overlapping disciplines of Queer Theory, Gay Studies, Art History and Visual Culture. Emmanuel both knew and was part of this project, as a gay man informed by the social and sexual history and politics of the Twentieth Century, a member of the hugely influential Gay Left Collective, a researcher and writer, and a producer of pots.

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So, what of my small dark cobalt blue bowl, with its few flecks of gold, that is clearly aware of its place in a history of studio pottery? What I want to propose, is that in the context of his own book, there is a place for this precious object – now placed between us, him as maker and me as collector – to be understood as a gay bowl. Made by the hands of a man who profoundly understood the connections between sexual identify and cultural production, this bowl is today understood by me as an object in a complex set of personal and professional relationships on which I have grounded my academic career. Selected by Simon Ofield-Kerr 142. Bowl Stoneware with volcanic glaze Emmanuel Cooper, 2005 2005.24 143. Bowl Stoneware with volcanic glaze Emmanuel Cooper, 2005 2005.23 144. Jug Porcelain with yellow glaze Emmanuel Cooper, 2005 2005.22 145. Bowl Porcelain with blue glaze Emmanuel Cooper, 2005 Loaned by Professor Simon Ofield-Kerr

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VICTORIA KELLEY Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher’s designs are redolent of the 1920s and 30s, with muted colours and rhythmic and semi-abstracted repeat motifs. The photograph shows the two women shopping in a French market in the 1930s: although their work was so of its era, inspiration came from antique textiles, including the three cloths here. The finest is delicately printed with coloured flowers on a beige ground. The most vivid colour is blue, but the blue dye has eaten away the cloth leaving ragged holes instead of flower sprigs. The two other cloths also show signs of age, small worn patches and little tears. In both cases someone has made an attempt at restitution, with clumsy darns and the application of a reinforcing backing cloth. Many designers have explored what Caroline Evans calls ‘dereliction’, taking creative inspiration from processes of ageing and ruination. Although Barron and Larcher used their collection of samples as their starting point, their textiles did not fetishise the marks of passing time. They were fresh and new, and very much of their own time. Nothing comes of nothing, and what I enjoy in the juxtaposition of the photograph, the antique textiles, and Barron and Larcher’s new design of the 1930s, is the generative meeting of old and new, worn and immaculate. Textile objects are closely tangled into human lives – made, fading and fraying, maintained, and remade. My research is about people and things in such everyday relationships, and its latest manifestation is a project on markets, the most informal, impermanent and humble of all retail institutions, so I am pleased to see that Barron and Larcher searched for their remnants in a market, and not in a shop.

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Selected by Victoria Kelley 146. Diagonal Length, cotton, indigo, discharge printed Barron and Larcher, 1923–40 T.74.196.b 147. Five historic hand-block-printed cotton textiles from Barron and Larcher’s Source Collection, probably purchased by them at French markets in the 1920/30s Fragment of a garment or accessory, floral design on olive green ground Undated, C. 19th century and probably French 2004.52.19 Fragment of a garment or accessory, floral design on indigo ground Undated, C. 19th century and probably French 2004.52.17 Strip of cloth, lined and hand-sewn, discharge print on a red ground Undated, C. 19th century and probably French 2004.52.2 Fragment of cloth, red and black floral design on undyed ground Undated, C. 19th century, French Attached label reads ‘August 1927. Rouen Selosse 25f’ 2004.52.9 Length of cloth, lined, blue, red and brown floral pattern on undyed ground C. 18th century, French Attached label reads ‘French cotton print. About 1750? Mulhouse Jouy. Lent by Miss Barron’ 2004.52.12 148. Photograph of Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher at a French market, possibly Calais C. 1930s BLC/1/6/1

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Curator: Professor Simon Olding Curatorial support: Jean Vacher Graphic Design: David Hyde Administration: Margaret Madden and Ingrid Stocker Technical support: Hannah Facey and Peter Vacher