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Welcome to the new edition for 2023. This edition, like all the others, has been chosen almost at random but intends to give a voice to those makers who are starting out and those who find it hard to get coverage for one reason or another.
What is particularly interesting in this edition are the makers who have started a second career after a successful first one. Why change and what have been the challenges? But what was never anticipated when starting this edition has been the links between different makers.
For instance Prof. Matt Smith originally started in Museum Studies at the V&A before taking a course in ceramics. He mentions that the Craft Council’s COLLECT show was a major influence on promoting his work. And what do we have in the magazine but an advance feature on COLLECT 2023 which Matt has also been chosen for.
Later in the magazine Kate Lyons Miller recalls a long career as a theatre scenic artist working all around the country on major productions Today, one of her missions is to instruct her students on what are the correct ways to collect clay in the open. And what do we have a review of a book looking at just that subject which has been reviewed by Kate
Annabel Munn who began by establishing her own gallery recalls her own work being purchased by the collector WA Ismay. And in this edition there is a feature about the new show at the Centre of Ceramic Art in York which looks at the life and importance of Ismay, plus there is a review of a book on his life
Harriet Ferris started as a jewellery designer working from her studio in Soho and now lives on the Kent coast, while Clare Palmer was previously an international account planner in the advertising industry.
Matt Smith
Conehead Jelly Mould
Marking its 19th edition, Collect the leading authority on collectable contemporary craft and d esign, promoted by the UK’s Crafts Council. Contemporary craft has never been more sought after, and Collect offers an exceptional opportunity to acquire new, museum quality work from living artists internationally. A line up of close to 40 specialist galleries from across the globe, representing over 400 artist makers have been selected to take part.
Complementing the physical fair in London, which attracted over 9,100 visitors in 2022, all works will additionally be available to view and purchase online via Artsy.net from 1 to 12 March 2023. Artsy.net cites Collect as one of its most successful virtua l fairs.
Collectors, interior designers, art advisors and enthusiasts, will be vying with arts institutions, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, to buy and commission contemporary craft across disciplines. These include ceramics, glass, lacquer, furniture, art jewellery, metalwork, textile and fibre, wood and paper, and pieces embracing non- traditional materials such as resin and plastics as well as reused, repurposed, recycled materials.
Left: 155A Gallery
Anne Laure Cano 2022
Collect focuses on exclusivity, reputation, rich narrative and expert curation - seeking variety and diversity in its content and vision. The fair provides an unparalleled opportunity for collectors to purchase pieces made in the last five years, and which are often created especially for the fair.
Alongside international galleries, Collect Open, the fair’s platform for pioneering and thought provoking craft installations by individual artists and collectives, returns with 14 exciting projects by artists hailing from the USA, Poland, and from all over the UK
“For the past 19 years, Collect has reinforced its pivotal position as the authority for contemporary craft and design. The increasingly diverse range of galleries and artistic voices featured at this year’s fair will make the show richer in content and discovery than ever before.” Isobel Dennis, Collect fair director.
General Admission: £25.00 Concession*: £20.00
(*Concession ticket holders must present valid ID or upgrade to General admission ticket on the day)
Tickets available from January 11 2023 at www.collectfair.org.uk
Location: Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
A ceramicist and textile artist he is best known for his parianware forms. Much of Smith’s work explores the representation of marginalised histories, giving a voice to those hidden and silenced. He often creates works in response to museum collections. Often revealing the view of history created by those with authority and invites reflection on alternative interpretations such as those of people of colour, LGBTQ+, those less able and women.
The exhibition Matt Smith: Who Owns History? contains some of Smith’s unpicked and restitched textiles and several of his uncanny ce ramic forms. Many of the latter have his recurring motif of coneheads or eggheads which cause viewers to consider who has a voice and who does not. Surreal assemblages of teapot spouts and jelly moulds unsettle and challenge viewers’ perceptions of the norm.
You mention that you previously lived in Hove. What memories do you have of the Gallery? I moved to Hove after graduating in Ceramics from the University of Westminster (Harrow) in 2006 and lived there until 2016 when I was offered a Professorship in Ceramics at Konstfack University in Stockholm.
In addition to being a regular visitor to Hove Museum, I was fortunate to have my work shown there and co curate an exhibition Precious with good friend and former curator at Hove Museum. Polly Harknett. As a maker, I was drawn to Hove Museum's really strong collection of contemporary craft as well as its selection of historic ceramics.
Where did you go to college?
It’s been circuitous. I originally did a BSc in Business Studies at Aston University and then, while working at the V&A did an MA in Museum Studies. It was only in my thirties that I started working with clay studying first at the amazing City Lit and then converting it into a BA at The University of Westminster/Harrow. Later on, I gained a practice based PhD from the University of Brighton.
Your work has featured in many international shows - which are been the most important? That’s a tough question. Collect is always an annual highlight: in addition to it being a busy fair, it’s also a great place to catch up with people. This year I went to Expo Chicago with Cynthia Corbett Gallery for the first time and found the level of engagement amongst the audience was really impressive.
How would you describe the development of your work?
The work seems to progress in steps. I work a lot with museum collections and make interventions which recontextualise them. This often requires me to work in new ways or with new materials. Therefore, the work often develops in response to these external influences.
Who has had the greatest influence on your work? The work of Fred Wilson has had a profound effect on me and is probably the main reason that I became an artist. He is best known for Mining the Museum, a series of interventions foregrounding African American experience through the repositioning of objects at the Maryland Historical Society. I’m also influenced by the work of Glenn Ligon and Hans Haacke.
How do you go about constructing the work? Most of my work is slip cast and assembled before firing. Once the required parts have been cast, and while they are still relatively damp, they are scored and dampened before joining. There is often a trade off between the clay being damp enough to join and firm enough to support itself. When working with parian, there is often quite a bit of propping in the kiln to help support the work during firing as it is liable to slumping.
Recently, I have been press moulding plates for the exhibition at the Pitt Rivers Museum and occasionally throw domestic ware which we use at home.
The collection of W.A. Ismay MBE (1910 2001) is remarkable. The UK’s most prolific collector of post war British studio pottery Ismay accumulated over 3,600 pieces by more than 500 potters between 1955 and 2001. Upon his death, he left his collection and its associated archive to the City of York. It has been 20 years since the W.A. Ismay Collection moved from private to public ownership, and the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) a re celebrating that anniversary.
Dr Helen Walsh, Curator of Ce ramics at York Art Gallery, commented: “It’s exciting to be able to display over 250 pieces from this incredible collection of post war ceramics for the first time in the Centre of Ceramic Art. Without his generous gift, CoCA would not exist.
“He led an extraordinary life, and so did his collection. As well as being able to admire the beautiful variety of pots, visitors will have the opportunity to learn a bout how Ismay lived with and used his collection in his ‘Yorkshire Tea Ceremony’.
“Ismay was passionate about supporting potters through their careers, and never saw himself as the owner of his collection, more as a temporary
custodian. He loved the social side of collecting and was keen to share his family of pots with others. It seems fitting that, to mark the 20 years since the collection arrived in York, the key works from his collection can be displayed together for all to see and enjoy in this free to visit exhibition.”
Items from Ismay’s vast archive documenting his life and ceramics collection are on public display for the first time, offering visitors the chance to learn more about his remarkable life. The eclectic collection on display includes objects created by many of the most significant potters working in the UK, such as Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew, as well as examples of work by lesserknown makers. Themes explored include competitive collecting, functional ceramics and dome stic display. There is a focus on key artists in the collection, particularly those working in Yorkshire, such Barbara Cass who had a studio on The Shambles, York and Sheffield born Jim Malone, the potter whom Ismay collected the most works by.
‘The Yorksh ire Tea Ceremony’ is now open and is free to visit. Pre booking is recommended at www.yorkartgallery.org.uk
York Art Gallery Opening Times: Wednesday Sunday 11am-5pm
*See the review of the book on pages 31 32
What was reason for the change from graphic design to ceramics. Where did you train for ceramics?
I stopped working as a graphic designer when our youngest child was born, and we moved from Devon to Scotland. I had been taught a little pottery at school, and did evening classes for a year at Hackney Community College. When we settled in Aberdeen I did a short course in Intermediate Ceramics at Gray’s School of Art and then taught myself, with the help of online videos by Simon Leach and Hsinchuen Lin.
I see you do a lot with ‘Potfest’ what are your thoughts around shows as compared to galleries?
I prefer shows as I find the interaction with visitors very rewarding, often with enjoyable discussions about process and inspiration. As pottery can often be a very solitary career, another definite bonus is having the opportunity to catch up with other makers. I have sold work through galleries in the past, and still do on occasion as I have strong relationships with those galleries, however often I don’t have time to do both whilst maintaining a healthy work/l ife balance.
Above: Series of porcelain bottles: decorated with found wool, wire, rock, rubber and plastic.
Juliet Macleod makes wheel thrown porcelain for functional and decorative use. More than twenty years working as a graphic designer generated a fascination for mark making. She uses handmade tools for painting, printing and sgraffito. These and the themes of reflection, floating and surface are used to impart an evocative exploration of the Scottish coast.
She works from her studio, The Cloud Pottery which is located in the countryside near Aberdeen. The local coastline and regular trips to the Outer Hebrides inform her practice.
Is there such a thing as a typical working day in the studio? where is the studio?
My making schedule generally works on a four week rotation roughly two weeks throwing and turning, a week of decorating, a week of firings and finishing. My studio is a shed in my garden, plus our utility room which acts as a drying room.
A lifetime of coastal memories retold on porcelain. Wheel thrown porcelain, decorated with tools handmade from materials scavenged from Scottish beaches.
Juliet Macleod, The Cloud Pottery www.julietmacleod.com
“The light this far north has had a significant influence on many artists the low sun even in high summer gives a distinct intensity and contrast.
My work is inspired by the colours and landscape of the Scottish coast. That is not to say that those colours and formations are unique to Scotland, however it is my memories of time spent in those places that make my work what it is ”. Juliet Macleod
Porcelain bowl: decorated with found wool, wire and shells.
Amongst the marram covered dunes at St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire. (Photo by Shannon Tofts)
Juliet and Mij the border terrier on the step of her garden studio. (Photo by Shannon Tofts)
Porcelain bowl: decorated with found wool, wire and plastic. (Photo by Shannon Tofts)
Emerging Potters
Her first career was in advertising as an account planner for 10 years, working in London’s creative advertising agencies. There she was developing the advertising strategy for a number of domestic and international client companies.
It is not unusual for people in advertising to leave the business in order to pursue a less commercially orientated creative career. So, in that context her colleagues were not surprised when she left.
Friends and family have always been extremely supportive of the switch.
Coming to ceramics relatively late in life the first encounter was when she enrolled on a beginners’ throwing course at Westminster Adult Education Services (WAES) in 200 6. It was love at first touch, and ended up with a BTEC Levels 2 & 3 under the fabulous tutelage of Anna Silverton and Craig Fowler. It was Anna who spurred her on to consider pursuing ceramics as a second career for which she is eternally grateful.
In 2015 she decided to take the plunge and embarked on the 2 year Diploma in Ceramics at City Lit. More eternal gratitude for the inspiring tutors and the phenomenal diversity of knowledge they bathed us in: Annie Turner, Dan Kelly, Robert Cooper, Kate Starkey, Jim Gladwin, Sarah Radstone.
Form has always been central to the work. Wouter Dam and Tina Vlassopulos are two of the makers who were early influences going back to WAES time.
The inspiration for the work has always been rooted in the personal. Both strands of work had the same initial start point; which coalesced in the final semester at City Lit. The d egree show titled Hidden Within was an exploration of her experiences of postnatal depression and anxiety; the emotions enveloping her; and the wished for escape. The techniques of slab-building and wheel-throwing forms to construct with, also originate from this time.
Since recovering from depression, the conceptual start points of her work have evolved, but the overall theme remains the same. The work continues to explore the contradiction between the veneers of order and control we show to the world and the private realities that lie hidden beneath the surface.
The slab -built strand of the work has evolved the most aesthetically and technically since graduating. She started exploring larger scale, multi element sculptures when she had a shared studio in the community of Kindred S tudios. First starting off as floor pieces and then evolving to wall hung work.
Photo above: Large -scale wall sculpture. Glazed stoneware with oxides. Handbuilt.
Top left Breathe 5 Unglazed porcelain with oxides. Handbuilt.
Top right Layers 3. Glazed stoneware. Wheel thrown, cut and joined.
Bottom Uncertain. Unglazed porcelain with oxide and glaze detail. Wheel thrown,
Next she is now preparing for the New Ashgate show in which will be on until Jan uary. Previously for the Fresh Air 22 show she was given free rein on three large walls. Her process for working has remained the same since college. Capturing potential idea s for pieces in a sketchbook. Often beginning with a written exploration of an emotiona l experience or state of mind. For her this activity results in a visual impression of the direction a piece will take and a working title. With these, she can start working directly with the clay.
She likes the co llaborative nature of working with a gallerist or curator. The discussion about what their vision is for the show, what it is about the work they think will add to this, and then the process of selection and/or making new pieces.
For example with Thrown Contemporary and Ruup & Form or for Relational Dreams (a group show curated by fellow artist Darshana Vora, at which she exhibited a collection of more overtly conceptual vessels).
And then, of course, there are the ceramic fairs like Art in Clay and Celebrating Ceramics. A chance to get up close and personal with the public, and understand how they respond to the work. Fantastic fun, but oh so exhausting she adds.
Financially things can be tough working from London. Studio rents are high. She has been fortunate in being able to convert a spare room into a studio at home, which has helped hugely in balancing the books. The upside of being a tube-ride from inspiration and galleries galore speaks for itself.
www.clarepalmerceramics.com
Instagram: @clarepalmerceramics
Canada has a handful of College & University ceramics courses offered across Canada. Heather studied at Kootenay Sch ool of the Arts (Now Selkirk College) in Nelson, British Colombia.
She commented, “I began my study of clay originally as a metal student at Kootenay School. The soft slab, hand building process is a direct reference to the construction of old timey, worn tin ware I am interested in the development of relationship created by placement and repetition, and the use of functional ceramics to create sculptural works. I have participated in residencies, given workshops and lectures and have exhibited my work across Canada and the
“The work is hand built, soft slab, and wood fired The pots I make are an exploration of how sculptural form, function and simplicity can exist in the everyday, utilitarian object. The soft slab, hand building process is a direct reference to the construction of old timey, worn tin ware. Surface s are created through wood firing that helps evoke a sense of nostalgia, creating a dialogue of memory between user and maker through everyday use."
How to market work is a perpetual issue and the growth of the internet has not just changed things but added a new dimension. But how do you approach somewhere as large as Canada? She commented, “ Through galleries, invitational exhibitions and through my on line shop at thehandbuilder.com.“
Galleries she has shown in recently are: General Fine Craft, Almont ON Benz Gallery, London, ON Blue Gallery, Thornbury, ON HSquared Gallery, Fernie, BC Alexis Templeton Studio, St John's, NF and School House Gallery, Star, NC
In the UK there is the Crafts Council who take an active role in promoting makers, through their own gallery, running courses, lobbying and their international ‘flagship’ show COLLECT. So, how does it work in Canada? She commented, “The Canada Council fo r the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to “foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.” Canada Council for the Arts.” https://canadacouncil.ca/about
Website: thehandbuilder.com Instagram: heather.dynessmit
Wood fired feed scoops Photo: Artist
Opposite: Soda Introduction. Photo: Bruce
CARFAC Canada stands forCanadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) and is incorporated federally as a non -profit corporation that is the national voice of Canada’s professional visual artists. As a non profit association an d a National Art Service Organisation, the mandate is to promote the visual arts in Canada, to promote a socio economic climate that is conducive to the ir production , and to conduct research and engage in public education for these purposes.
It was established by artists in 1968 and has been recognised by the Status of the Artist legislation. CARFAC is guided by an active Board, elected by the membership.
They believe that artists, like professionals in other fields, should be paid for their work and share equitably in profits from their work. As the national voice of Canada’s professional visual artists, CARFAC defends artists’ economic and legal rights and educates the public on fair dealing with artists. In doing so, CARFAC promotes a socio economic climate conducive to the production of visual arts. It engages actively in advocacy, lobbying, research and public education on behalf of artists in Canada.” -
CARFAC CANADA https://www.carfac.ca/
“My studio is a standard two car garage attached to my home”.
Returning to further education in later life can be very challenging but I found the mature student experience wonderful. Especially at MA level, but I recognise that the BA experience was a necessary lead into the latter. I would not have begun to focus o n my special areas of interest, then research, without the initial experimentation and breadth of learning accessed in the undergraduate course.
I was awarded a BA Hons in Ceramics at Plymouth College of Art in the summer of 2016, and I have now successfully completed my MA course in Ceramic Design at BathSpa University, School of Art and Design.
As a mature student I had learned to prioritise my time, and did not have the social distractions so necessarily a part of 18 year old university life away from home.
Gathering clay is very much a ‘thing’ at present. My wish is, as I said, is for people to do this carefully.
The IT was very challenging, but so worthwhile, an essential skill which my generation has had to learn on the hoof, with a need to know background, which leaves enormous gaps. We have been living through a technological revolution no less in soci etal impact than the industrial revolution, and I’m unashamedly playing catch-up.
At MA seminar and studio discussion with peers is a vital part of the course, I would advise prospective masters students to make enquiries about the size and make- up of the student cohort that they’ll join. It is an expensive exercise. I was so fortunate, an aunt totally unexpectedly left me a legacy, an opportunity to indulge myself, I’m so pleased that I did.
Previously I was working as a scenic artist which means that o ne is continually concerned with colour, texture and scale, all transferable skills. I worked in theatres all around Britain in that career. At the National Theatre, the most challenging and therefore satisfying production was ‘The Changeling’, designed by William Dudley, on the Lyttleton Stage; at Glyndebourne I helped to create ‘The Coronation of P oppea’, designed by John Bury, but the best theatre to work in, on many levels, was the Traverse, Edinburgh, in its old home in the Grassmarket, a small fringe company producing amazing new writing. I worked on ‘The Slab Boys’ trilogy there, written and designed by John Byrne. My last theatre work was at Plymouth Theatre Royal as Head Scenic Artist there for 19 years. And it brought me home to Devon
Teaching pays the bills, is rewarding and a two way process, I often talk of facilitation rather than teaching. Many of my stu dents are longstanding regulars.
Fossicking with Millie the dog who also helps in the studio
Gathering clay is very much a ‘thing’ at present. My wish is for people to do this carefully. I’ve signed up to a green maker initiative organised by a team from Plymouth Uni., I’m aiming to raw glaze and low temp fire in the interest of sustainability and economy. Both also very much a current thing. Essential here too, as we are off grid, using solar and a diesel fired generator.
Locally resourced clays and minerals are a method of connecting with the landscape, the geology informs the making of land and working on, moving around, climate of… Philip Rawson wrote, In the case of ceramics, we are brought everywh ere face to face with the root. The landscape I live and work in is pared back, clear, simplified by erosion over millennia. There is evidence of human activity, but my feeling is that if people try to dominate this land it rejects them, I enjoy that sense of co existence with the natural world.
The ball clay I often use is from the huge deposits in the Bovey Basin, kindly supplied to me in small quantities of raw clays, straight from the clay beds, by Imrey’s, New Bridge Quarry, Heathfield, Devon. I process it and experiment with additions and inclusions from my walks. Character, dynamism and unpredictability results, often failing, there are no textbooks or factory tech depts., sorting out the optimum ways to use the material.
Colour and texture made of the mineral elements of Dartmoor are evident. The granite derived from the moor has been the base material used by potters for thousands of years , ball clays here, and china clays in the west, together with minerals for colourants and glaze materials. I stress to all that gathering wild clays and minerals MUST be done with landowner permission and mindfulness of the sustainability of the flora and fauna, especially don’t gather where eggs or larvae might be.
Currently the studio is at Holwell, near widecombe in the Moor. At present she is exhibiting at The Studio at Makesouthwest in a show called Rippon.
I set up my first studio with a colleague in The Clay Factory, Ivybridge, Devon, and began teaching small groups there. Moving to our present home near Widecombe in the Moor I looked about for premises, and was thrilled to find a redundant butche ry on the doorstep, with a farmer very willing to rent it. With my partner we ripped out freezer walls and cold store fittings, had roof lights and solar panels installed, re instated the water supply and bought a generator to supplement the panels and batteries, not much solar up here in December. Most of the fittings have been built or adapted by us, found and recycled from local reclamation yards.
It’s been over 25 years since l left my jewellery studio in Soho, London to live by the sea in Whitstable, Kent.
After graduating from Central St Martins in the late 80’s with a degree in Jewellery Design, I worked at the contemporary jewellery gallery Jess James, before going on to join an artist studio in Beak Street, Soho to launch my solo career. The studio was an incredibly vibrant and exciting place to work. London offered up so many different opportunities. Along with designing and making my own jewellery collections I had the pleasure of working with Tom McEwan, Danny Hall, Eric Van Peterson and Stüssy where I was invited to make a piece for the De Beers Trilogy Collection. I even worked for a toy company carving the masters for the dolls and animals for Polly Pocket.
Business wise it was tough to move away from London as I no longer had the regular visits from clients, and it became harder to keep in touch while my attention was pulled towards my family.
Then in October 2019 I was given an evening course in ceramics for a birthday present and that was it, I was hooked! From the beginning it was all about touch. I delight in the handling of the material, to be able to manipulate and explore form so freely has captivated me and I cannot quite believe it’s taken me this long to find clay. Having this new resource at my fingertips, at this stage of my life, has given me time to indulge and for the first time in years I am hungry to create.
Three small vases Black stoneware, torn, pinched and slab built
My life has been full of wonderful experiences all of which I feed from. My early childhood was spent riding in the wide open spaces of Salisbury Plain, and around the monumental stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury. I have been lucky enough to travel the world extensively spending many months in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America, experiences that have informed me, and play a part in shaping my ideas. But my most immediate spring board is the local environment, whether it’s the marine structures of sea forts, coastal landscapes, or a simple stone picked up from the beach, living by the sea has had an everlasting effect on me.
I work from home and have a small electric kiln given to me by a friend. I still attend a two and a half hour weekly ceramic session mainly for the company, encouragement and advice, but also to try out different techniques that I cannot do at home such as Raku and smoke firing.
My work is hand built using a combination of slab, pinched and coiled clay. With an eye on detail and an understanding of three dimensional form, my jewellery training has certainly helped as my sculpting skills translate quite effortlessly into this wonderfully versatile material. I love the process of slowly piecing together, adding or taking away, forever altering until the form appears and apart from scale is not dissimilar to carving into wax to create a piece of jewellery to be cast in metal.
My timing was not great to launch a new career, pretty much as soon as I got started Covid hit. Saying that, it did give me time to create a website and I found Instagram which gave me an instant online connection to the world beyond my four walls. I began to enter open calls and competitions, with several failures and a few successes along the way. This period gave me time to experiment and gain confidence.
In recent months I have been selected to take part in the Oxford Ceramics Fair 2022 in October and the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London in November.
As well as these two exciting events I have been curating and taking part in a show at the Whitstable Museum Gallery along side a group of incredibly talented local ceramic artists. It showcased the diversity of techniques and the depth of creativity that is on tap in Whitstable and the surrounding area.
I love the idea of the ‘Emerging Potter‘ as I feel I fit the bill completely! Now that my last child has left for University I feel I am emerging from the all consuming, but delightful, experience of motherhood to the beginning of what I hope to be a life long journey of creativity and discovery.
Now that I have a better understanding of the properties of clay I am finding the need to push myself, explore new techniques and test my sculpting skills. Armed with this newly found confidence I feel able to explore more intricate forms and what better subject to start with than the human head.
www.harrietferris.com Instagram: @harrietferris_
Below: Stringer and Winged Vessel Slab built black and white stoneware.
Right top: Memories of You Stoneware sculpture on stone base
Centre : Whitstable Town Beach
Bottom Right: Surface Tension Black
She studied Ceramics at Bristol (BA Hons), specialising in hand building with a clear emphasis on sculptural aspects. During the final year developing an unusual cross department relationship with the Fine Art department and finally casting a piece in bronze.
After graduating she set up studios in an old warehouse, and alongside exhibiting in established galleries she set up a series of pop-up galleries called ‘Location’, which supported new and established artists, and as well as local charities.
Later she returned to Sussex and set up Peter’s Barn Gallery in the tiny Barn that was formerly her dad’s workplace in the garden. What followed was 10 years of exhibitions where with her mother they showcased established and up and coming artists in the Barn and sculpture garden. Showing ceramics, painting, glass, sculpture, enamel and printmaking. They actively encouraged artists, including Mo Jupp, Walter Keeler, Sally Scott, Simeon Farrer, Nicholas Homoky, Ben Barrell, Robin Welch, Nicholas Lees, amongst many others.
We gave them a platform to experiment and resulting in some extraordinary exhibitions. Walter Keeler produced some enormous thrown garden sculptures based on industrial relics. Mo Jupp created a collection of totem like sculptures inspired by the fencing around the gallery. (For which she designed and produced an accompanying book). Together they ran demonstrations, and weekend workshops, predominantly in ceramics, and including enamell ing. During this time she was also running life drawing classes, exhibiting her coil built sculpture, and making sgraffito tiles, including many commissions for venues across the world.
(Including Homes in Greece, Germany, USA, Hotel in Barbados) and some large tile panels wired together to create wall hanging pieces.
She builds the surface of the tile transferring layers of slip from paper onto the surface. At the leather hard stage she would carve and scrape the surface to produce one off images that include a lot of fish and birds, amongst other imagery. Then fired to 1150 degrees.
The wonderful Bill Ismay became a regular visitor to the Gal lery and collected several of her tiles which are now in the W. A. Ismay Collection at York City Museum (see feature Yorkshire Tea Ceremony). Working in fine grogged earthenware, coiling large, relatively thin forms for thei size, she studied their form and space. Overhangs, contrasting full forms with crisp edges and using semi vitreous slips on the surface were fired to 1150 degrees.
Whist running the gallery she was given the opportunity to travel to Japan with the Arts Council on an Arts Curators trip. This was a fascinating time and introduced her to an enduring love of Japanese style and aesthetic.
Being creatively curious, with a love to constantly learn new skills and try new techniques and materials, she tends to run many projects alongside each other, including Illustration and design projects, abstract painting, ceramics, and has taught regularly. She has also been a regular judge at Art and Craft shows, and given many demonstrations. At tthis time she also worked with Persephone Books to make a series of bespoke Mugs for their Holborn and Bath Stores.
For the last 15 years she has been working with very fine earthenware slabs, torn and reconstructed, fired multiple times to build a subtle surface using semi vitreous slips, underglaze drawings and more recently incorporating transfers, lustres and 24carat gold leaf and porcelain.
* See book review of Bill Ismay on pages 31 -32
These ‘memory bo wls ‘relate to remembered journeys and events, a fascination with her surroundings through the architecture and nature, while trying to capture what can sometimes be a fleeting moment or experience.
Now living in Southsea, Portsmouth, and working from the basement (which she shares with decks and thousands of albums), the coastal city home constantly feeds her inspiration with so much historical architecture, the constantly changing coast, street history everywhere and it’s Industrial and seafaring heritage .
She is currently working in porcelain, and creating numerous small textured tiles, firing to 1220 degrees, sometimes glazed, sometimes coloured, sometimes gilded. Then wiring them together to create sculptures. The white porcelain becomes translucent and captures the light whilst the gilding reflects it back. The black porcelain pieces appear to have more solidity to them, but on handling the pieces there is movement from the wired joints that suggests fragility.
A new challenge has forced adaptations to the working practice. As carer to her mother she’s had to find new ways of working, which has emerged as a combination of many of her varied working techniques coming together in the brief windows she has to create.
Top: White Series. Centre: After. Bottom: Bronze Wave Photo’s: Norman Hollands http://www.annabelmunn.com/
Above: Monument, black porcelain
Right: Tower, porcelain
In 2013, Turning Earth pioneered an open-access membership pottery studio model that has since grown in popularity internationally. A bit like gym membership, users pay a monthly subscription and come and go as they please.
After surviving Covid 19 restrictions with the support of its community, Turning Earth is now responding to this trend, boldly launching a new studio in Tottenham, London during the restrictions of Winter of 2021, and continuing the mission to make space for more makers with the creation of a new centre in Highgate, London.
Turning Earth’s Director Tallie said, “They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. When we saw the first lockdown looming we didn’t think we’d get through it. But the response of our community was incredible when we closed our doors, our members kept paying their fees so we wouldn’t g o under. It showed us just how much our facilities meant to people and we knew that if we survived the crisis we needed to keep growing . With the help of our members, the furlough scheme and a generous Arts Council grant we were lucky enough to come throu gh it, so now we are doing just that”
Tottenham, the new go to destination for nesting creatives, was the obvious choice. But when, soon after construction began, Tallie found another perfect space on the market near Highgate Woods where she and her broth er played as children, they decided their work in North London wasn’t done. The recently launched centre in Highgate, is Turning Earth's sixth studio site.
Now the UK’s leading makerspace, Turning Earth today serves over 500 open-access members and 400 st udents a month across its five sites in three London postcodes. These include studios in railway arches in Hoxton, in an industrial estate in Leyton, and as of December 2021 - within a new creative complex in Crawley Road near Turnpike Lane in Tottenham.
In the last edition of the magazine we profiled the pioneering work of Steve Booton and his show in Sheffield Only Clay. It was only the second year, and faced all the uncertainties of Covid restrictions. Featured here are impressions of the two days in September by one of the makers Wendy Kershaw .
“Sheffield is a vibrant multicultural city with a great range of food, and for me some good vegan places ! On the last night we went to the wonderful Donna Summer. Lots of eating places very close to Kelham Island Museum.”
”One intrepid potter brought his camper van, and parked it on the outskirts of town, while another group of potters clubbed together and rented a Air B+B, parking it by the venue. The less fortunate were condemned to living room floors”.
“Some makers had cone as far as Scotland and Cornwall.”
“Sheffield itself is very busy and vibrant, lots of students. I can’t say much more, as I was in Kelham Island Museum most of the time” .Wendy Kershaw
William Albert Ismay (known as Bill to his friends) is someone born in the wrong place at the wrong time, but ended up as a celebrated expert in a field of work he was never trained for. This remarkable story has been diligently traced and interpreted by Dr Helen Walsh from York Museums Trust. The book also accompanies an exhibition featuring the legacy of this remarkable man.
Where to begin? Originally Dr Helen Walsh was recruited by York Museums Trust to catalogue the recently donated W.A. Ismay collection comprising some 3,600 pots amassed from 1955 to 2001. A job she thought would take about six months, but was only completed five years later. Not helped by the extensive notes and catalogue system all written in an almost totally illegible handwriting. Plus all the research material. Ismay predated the computer revolution and had very bad eyesight.
The style of the book is biographical and constantly humorous. Many of the insights into his life and collecting have be gleaned from the thousands of letters to ceramic makers and published articles he left. He was a diligent correspondent if not driven.
He was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire on 10 April 1910. His father was a cloth presser, and his mother an elementary school teacher. His grandparents lived in the house next door. After his parents deaths Ismay inherited the house with no debts and a sum of money. This was used to finance the start of his collection.
After school he applied for many teaching jobs after gaining a place at Oxbridge which due to the cost was unable to take up. Instead he studied Classics at the University of Leeds. Later he took a teacher training course with the view of a career in 1933. Due to the Great Depression he struggled to find a job suitable to his qualifications During this time he continued to develop his interest in a literary career in poetry, fiction and journalism. Other interests included literature, theatre, film and politics, leading to an introduction to the Communist Party through Cecil Day Lewis.
Through her meticulous attention to detail Walsh manages to bring out the other side of Ismay via his extensive letters. The book quotes lavishly from these and brings to life his view of the world.
He joined the West County Library Service in 1938. Then came the Second World War and he was called up for service in 1942. He travelled to India and China during the war, which had an influence on his knowledge of ceramics from other cultures.
Although he never married he fell for the singer, fan -dancer and actress Phyllis Dixey and they wrote to each other regularly. But this secret other life only came to light after his death.
In the early 1950s he became interested in photography and became very skilful. It was something that would give a greater depth to his research and cataloguing later in his career.
So, now middle aged how did his interest in ceramics start and then develop into an international collection? Through the extensive research Walsh found that his mother encouraged him to have a hobby. That was ceramics. He initially kept his collection at work and used it in displays in the library, before taking over the house after his parents died, filling it up over the next forty years.
The book goes into some detail about how he visited many of the leading potters of the day to understand how the work was made and add to his collection. He extended his area of research from beyond Yorkshire to include all of the country to see exhibitions and purchase. Inevitably this brought him to London to attend many shows and so began a battle between Ismay and private collectors and institutions for the best work.
At the same time as the expansion of the collection Ismay was also writing numerous features on ceramics, with over 90 being published by Ceramic Review over the years. The collection was known nationally and he was often asked for work to be used for exhibitions, which he readily agreed to. Many visitors both academic and also young potters would visit him at his home in Wakefield. And all the time he kept up a flow o f correspondence with all those involved.
A measure of how the collection was expanding came after the death of his mother in 1956.
Examples of the prices being paid are illustrated by 7s 9p on work by Bernard Leach, £3 to £15 on work by Hans Coper, and between £2 and @12 on work by Lucie Rie.
Towards the end of his life he had to face the issue of what was to be done with the collection after he had gone? Various institutions were dismissed out of hand if they wanted to break the collection up, or not display it properly. After many negotiations the Yorkshire Museum came forward with the offer of housing the entire collection, which eventually, after the creation of York Museums Trust in 2002, led to the development of the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) at York Art Gallery in 2015
Helen Walsh followed the transformation Ismay’s collection instigate d in York, cataloguing the collection and embarking on nine years of doctoral research in a quest to understanding the man and his role in 20th Century ceramics. This book is a tribute to him and to the many ceramic makers who benefitted from his support. It is an amusing read and a tribute to dogged determination from both of them.
ISBN 078 1 913645 15 1
Published by Paul Holberton Publishing
Copies of the book are available from York Art Gallery and good book shops RRP £25 plus P&P
In the same way that people have used materials close at hand to build homes for millennia, so have potters used clay.
Local clays have character and unpredictability, processing and making is satisfying and the end product unique. Potters throughout the world are continuing ancient traditions or reviving and evolving new ones using wild clays. ‘Wild Clay’ provides an overview at a perfect time. Many artists are investigating sustainable practice and authenticity, seeking to understand where their materials come from, and how their extraction and production into ceramic impacts the environment.
This wonderful book introduces the areas in which the authors have a special interest and experience, with short histories of the clay lands of North Carolina, Montana, Shigaraki and Bizen, followed by a useful overview of wild clay collection and use.
The authors point out that where there has been a tradition of making ceramics, brick or ware, there will very likely be clay; in the past transportation of heavy raw materials was difficult, so pottery centres developed near the source. To find wild clay they suggest consulting farmers and construction workers, then to return the favour, take them a gift of work made with the material. Legalities are mentioned, US based, but stressing that collection must be with landowner permission, (check local rock collection laws), and be cognisant of local flora and fauna.
Looking further, they discuss clay as a ‘narrative driver’ in education around geology and landscape, in making pastels and paints, and in installation and the exploration of unfired clay works. In the ‘Spotlight’ chapter artists describe these concerns, and many talk of their ceramics fostering connectedness to the community as well as to the landscape.
‘Wild Clay’ imparts a strong and exciting sense of curiosity and openness to ideas, interest in the past, and care for the future.
Note: Kate makes and teaches in her studio on Dartmoor, Devon, an area rich in clays and minerals which inform her work.
www.katelyonsmiller.com
The publisher is offering a 20% discount for readers of Emerging Potters magazine and Aylesford Pottery students. Use code Potters2 0
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/wild clay 9781789940923/
Emerging Potters magazine is published quarterly and can be found on the ISSUU platform.
E: paulbailey123@googlemail.com
Contribu tions to the gallery of work from makers and students are welcome and will be included wherever possible on a first come basis. Send to the email address. The editor’s decision is final.
© Paul Bailey 2023
