Ceramic Celebration

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Ceramic Celebration


South Wales Potters is one of the largest groups of professional and hobby potters and ceramicists in the UK. The group has more than 100 members, based in South, Mid and West Wales, over the water in the South West and the Heart of England and even some working abroad. Members include full-time potters, sculptors and students. SWP organise a full programme of events for members including demonstrations, ‘skill-share’ sessions and wood-kiln firings from our brick kiln. Members also receive the popular Shards newsletter. The group has a busy exhibitions programme, giving members an opportunity to showcase and sell their work. South Wales Potters welcome everyone interested in ceramics, whether you are a maker or not. www.southwalespotters.org.uk


Ceramic Celebration Fifty Years of South Wales Potters

Daniel Boyle, Jason Braham, Rebecca Buck, Mary Cousins, Patia Davis, Julie Dooley, Joe Finch, Christine Gittins, Frank Hamer, Janet Hamer, Walter Keeler, Liz Lawrence, Trevor Lillistone, Alison Lochhead, Ian Rylatt, Micki Schloessingk, Jeremy Steward, Gill Tennant-Eyles and Peter Wills.


Dedicated to the memory of Janet Hamer 1932 – 2014


Fifty years of South Wales Potters As a student at Harrow

skills. It became a magnet to draw people

School of Art in 1959, I

in and enthuse them, and it grew into the

remember Mick Casson

old established institution we now know

enthusing

as the Craft Potter’s Association.

and

me

Madoline to

come

along and help refurbish the premises

This happened in London. Potters and

in Lowndes Court in Soho that was to

pottery enthusiasts around the United

become the first Craftsman Potters Shop.

Kingdom could join, but meetings to share

They were all there: Ray Finch, Rosemary

techniques and ideas were happening too

Wren, David Eeles, Murray Fieldhouse,

far away for them to regularly participate.

Mick and many more of those post-war

It was a group in South Wales who were

pioneers of Studio pottery. It was such a

the first to set up a regional association,

significant initiative, uniting potters in

with broadly similar ambitions to the

their determination to establish a market

CPA but with an all embracing attitude

and showcase for their work in the capital,

to membership - amateur, professional,

and at the same time draw together as a

enthusiast, collector - all were welcome

community to consolidate and share their

to share and contribute. The South Wales


Potter’s Association acted as a catalyst,

of skill, and the rich creative opportunities

nurturing a community of “clay people�

in making pots for use. In its fiftieth year

who support one another and share their

the SWP faces new challenges. Is it, for

knowledge, abilities and their passion for

example, possible for regional groups

ceramics and pottery.

like ours to mitigate the dramatic loss in ceramics provision in higher education?

British potters are a particularly generous

Could we attract younger members with

fraternity, and inevitably potters in other

ambition to become professional makers,

regions followed the SWP in forming

and help them find mentors, and develop

associations. Times have changed though,

their skills and talents?

as has the pottery business itself; decades of degree level training for ceramics

In the early days there was energy to

students, the luring of ceramists into

spare, members were bowled along by

the territory of conceptual art and the

enthusiastic movers and shakers who

academic concerns for contextualising

organised events and meetings despite

what we do have drawn many young

their busy lives. This kind of driven

makers away from the creative liberation

enthusiasm seems less urgent and less


focused now (not just in SWP) we are no longer pioneering and pottery now has a far broader audience. We have also experienced the burgeoning - and the decline - of high level and high quality pottery and ceramic education. The vacuum that provoked our foundation has to some extent been filled, so perhaps we have to re-assess how we focus our energy in today’s pottery environment: who are we, what do we need and where are we going? There is so much to celebrate in South Wales Potter’s fiftieth year, however perhaps it is time to take a breath before we plunge into the next half century! Walter Keeler Honorary President, South Wales Potters April 2014


‘South Wales Potters welcomes professional potters, ceramic sculptors, part-time potters, teachers and students. Activities offer members opportunities to increase an awareness of ceramics and develop practical skills. Frequent exhibitions and discussions are arranged.’ From ‘Breath of the Dragon’ an exhibition of South Wales Potters at the Barbican in 1992


Fifty Years of South Wales Potters Moira Vincentelli

Early years and on going values Founded in 1964, the Craftsmen Potters of

It was a promising start and an exciting time

South Wales as they were originally known,

for young potters. There were opportunities

are the first regional group of the Craft

for art teachers to introduce pottery into

Potters Association (founded 1958). By

the curriculum, evening classes were being

the first AGM in January 1965 they could

set up and rural properties were available

report that they now had fifty members, a

at an affordable price. In 1966 the Severn

number of whom were married couples. In

Bridge was opened, car ownership was

the first year the pattern had been set with

spreading and there was a sense of a new

regular meetings – monthly in those early

prosperity in South Wales.

years, including visits, a clay digging event, a criticism evening, a hand-built pottery day

The constitution stated that the society’s

and an exhibition at the Howard Roberts

aim ‘was to raise the standard of pottery in

Gallery in Cardiff. They had achieved local

South Wales’. That word standard, with its

press coverage and even a four-minute

echo of Leach’s influential essay ‘Towards

report on the BBC.

a Standard’ in A Potter’s Book, makes a frequent appearance in the early annals


of the society. Perhaps it has never really

In the spirit of the new informal approach

gone away. The society has always had an

of the sixties, the minutes report that they

open membership policy but exhibition

have all agreed to use first names when

selection has sometimes been contentious.

addressing each other.

Mick Casson (Honorary Vice President)

usual President, Secretary and Treasurer the

commenting on an early exhibition praises

other two officers on the committee in the

the show for ‘imaginative ideas’ but urges

early days were, significantly, an Editor and

the potters ‘–‘to raise the standard higher

an Exhibition Officer. They are an indication

and to get that professionalism that is so

of the importance of both writing and

hard to achieve’. Years later, in 1981, the

exhibiting that was at the heart of activities.

exhibition officer, Phil Rogers, expresses

This was before Ceramic Review had started

some disappointment at the exhibition

and Pottery Quarterly (1954-1991) would

that year at Newport and defends the

have been the only publication available to

stringent selection by Wally Keeler,

young potters. The early newsletters contain

‘we cannot embarrass these people by

a lively range of items with some long articles:

showing work that is not up to standard’

Frank Hamer describes the geology of South

– that word again.

Wales including a map showing rock types,

Apart from the


summaries of lectures by Bernard Leach

A levels in pottery, and pottery teacher

and Michael Casson, Barrie Naylor on his

training. Frank Vining, an active member

extensive tour in Europe visiting potteries

and head of ceramics at Cardiff, describes

taking in the Kähler Pottery in Denmark and

the new Dip AD and the ceramics course in

La Borne and Vallauris in France. A visit to

Cardiff, and Mick Casson writes about the

the ceramic collection in Aberystwyth is

new vocational course at Harrow. There is a

described in detail with drawings of some of

strong feeling of commitment and purpose

the Hamada and Leach pots. On the lighter

and the growing place of ceramics at all

side there were also poems, cartoons and

levels of education.

crosswords. Trevor

Worton

(President

1969-74)

Education

organised an exhibition in Cardiff of schools

Newsletter 8 is particularly long, running to

pottery from all over the UK. Another early

26 pages with news of the recently opened

venture, clearly aimed at teachers, was the

Craft Potters shop in London. The main part,

creation of a slide pack of nine slides to be

however, is a special feature on education

sold at ÂŁ1.10 shillings.

with articles on clay and children, GCE &


In Newsletter 9 we find a reference to a

along and stressed that ‘NFS’ tags were not

‘teach in’, a topical word in 1968, suggesting

very welcome.

exactly that sense of grass roots community action. The day work shop at Caerleon was

By 1967 they are planning an exhibition at

attended by 60 people - 33 members and

the CPA in London. The summer exhibition

25 non-members including some students.

at Llantarnam Grange ran for two weeks

The message was spreading.

in July and was covered in the Newsletter 9 by various lengthy critiques of the show

Exhibitions

often going through maker by maker. It

Selling exhibitions have always been an

suggests the pioneering nature of writing

important part of the activities of the

about pottery and the struggle to improve

society. They were financially important but

and achieve good work and learn from each

were also an opportunity to learn through

other. With sales of £108 they managed to

showing and discussion of work. Prices in

balance the books and even make a small

the early days ranged from under £1.00

profit. In September there was a further show

to 12 guineas. The newsletter entreated

of ‘Individual Ceramics’ at the Arts Council

members to urge their friends to come

Gallery in Cardiff. The lively 60s-styled


catalogue cover in turquoise, terracotta and black lists 116 exhibits by eight makers with brief biographies and a glossary of terms in the xeroxed interior pages. In Newsletter 9, the show was reviewed suggesting that: ‘the standard had improved, some were honest, some were not, a few were derivative, others were struggling self-consciously, others struggling successfully’. Such resonant words suggest the moral battleground of 1960s studio pottery. Exhibitions were stepped up after the 1990s with shows at the Garden Festivals, International Potters Festival and other venues in Wales and beyond. In July 1999 South Wales Potters had an exhibition at


the Ceramics Millennium in Amsterdam.

opportunity. In 1990 South Wales Potters ran a selling and demonstration week at

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre has played

the Gateshead Festival and two years later

an important background role in the history

undertook a joint venture with North Wales

of South Wales Potters and hosted numerous

Potters at Ebbw Vale working with the

exhibitions and events, it is surely fitting

garden designer, Stella Caws, Emlyn Brick

that in its fiftieth year the 2014 exhibition

and Barters Farm Nursery.

opens here.

feature was an enormous brick sculpture

The central

of a mythical beast by Gwen Heeney. It Potters Gardens

was a successful selling event and engaged

Between 1984 and 1992 the Conservative

the public over eight weeks with pottery

government promoted a biennial series of

demonstrations. The garden won a Gold

garden festivals with the aim of reclaiming

Medal and sales ran to over ÂŁ36,000. On

industrial sites left by the demise of heavy

the strength of this the following year they

industries. Ebbw Vale was chosen as the

created a garden at the Stuttgart Garden

final site in the series.

Ned Heywood, as

Festival, a town twinned with Cardiff, for

marketing officer, was quick to recognise an

which they won a bronze medal. A further


garden was launched in 1994 at Hampton

and a fountain by Pauline Ball. The project

Court Palace on the theme of Earth, Air,

involved coordination and collaboration

Fire and Water. Ten members were there to

from many people in the society. On-

install 28 two-foot square individual tiles.

going care is always a problem and in 2012 a volunteer group went in to revive

A final venture in this field was the

its overgrown appearance. Fortunately the

Millennium Garden with Pauline Paterson,

major sculptural works were still in place.

Carole Longhurst and Colin Horseman taking a lead on the organisation with

From Potters Camps to Ceramic Festival

Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre. As ever

North Wales Potters was founded in 1980

South Wales potters were able to take on an

and soon the two potters groups were

expensive project raising a substantial grant

working together. The first joint camp

of ÂŁ20.000 from the Arts Council on a

was held at Tredegar House in 1983 and,

budget of ÂŁ45,000. Designed as a sensory

although preceded by a month of South

garden there were tile panels made by

Wales rain, the event seemed to go very well

members and others made in conjunction

in spite of some last minute hitches, not

with local schools, a ceramic totem pole

least the flooded grounds. They managed


to construct and fire four different kilns (salt-glaze, wood-fired, propane gas and raku) and Michael Casson established his role as a great master of ceremonies. Wally Keeler built a catenary arch salt-glaze kiln, Alan Barrett-Danes held a workshop on lustres and Siddig El N’goumi demonstrated burnished ware inspired by his Sudanese heritage. Phil Rogers ran an auction. This was followed in 1987 by the first International Potters Camp at Aberystwyth. It was deemed to be such a success that it became a regular biennial event. Alan Hewson, Eve Ropek and the team at the Arts Centre were enthusiastic supporters and eventually became part of a tri-partite


arrangement with North and South Wales

the familiar calls for members to be more

Potters. In spite of occasional heated

active, to be willing to hold office etc. The

committee meetings over the years the

departing Chairs or Presidents look forward

event went from strength to strength

to getting their life back after a few years

and, after 1995, was sold out months

when the phone never stops ringing. But

in advance. It has to be considered one

probably like most societies a small number

of the greatest achievements of potters

of people kept everything going, often

in Wales. Significantly by 1997 the title

supported by partners who quietly offered

migrated first to Potters Festival and then to

some extra help with printing, typing,

Ceramics Festival. The ‘beards and sandals’

photocopying, stuffing envelopes, driving

image of ‘pottery’ turned into the more

visiting speakers etc. By the new century

all-encompassing term ‘ceramics’ and the

the society had established a website,

‘camp’ became a festival.

now a smart site with good information about members and their work. In 2008

Newsletters and Shards

the society got its new logo designed by

Reading between the lines of newsletters and

Maggie White. In the following year Shards

its successor, Shards, one sees all too well

went into colour but was now reduced to


four rather than six a year, resisting an Arts

writing was also a bonus to the society and

Council Wales suggestion that they go over

its ability to produce newsletters especially

to an electronic newsletter.

in the early days at a time when little else was available for incipient studio potters.

People

Janet was an early newsletter editor but

It would be impossible to mention in a

both supplied articles and much more. They

short article all the people who have been

were always there to step in when help was

important to South Wales Potters. Major

needed. In 2005 when members turned up

figures such as Michael Casson were always

to a meeting at Llantarnam Grange, only to

there to support, Walter Keeler, Phil Rogers,

find that the door had been vandalised and

Frank Vining appear regularly in the pages

they were unable to get in, the only solution

of the newsletter and later Shards. There

was to adjourn to Frank and Janet’s house.

is, however, no question that two names

In 2008, Frank was keeping up to date and

stand out among all these – Frank and Janet

thoughtfully writing about how pottery can

Hamer. In fifty years since its foundation

be more green and in 2012 Janet wrote an

they were always there in key roles. Their

article on copper and copper oxide. The

commitment to technical research and

same issue contained a jokey crossword


from Frank something that had not been

10 Potters in Wales an exhibition of thrown

seen since the early days! It is easy to see

pottery - all by men. Nobody questioned

how their joint abilities to research and

such choices at that time when most of the

write on technical aspects of pottery turned

ceramics teachers in institutions of higher

into The Potters Dictionary of Materials

education were male. By contrast, from the

and Techniques first published in 1975

very start South Wales Potters was a place

and by 2004 in its fifth edition. As makers

that welcomed women and recognised

their work has always had its place but as

their contribution. Therese ‘Paddy’ Jones

writers and organisers they have been giant

was a pottery teacher, founding member,

figures. In 2005 they received a Life Time

treasurer and sometime editor of Shards.

Achievement Award at the International

Pauline Paterson is another name that that

Ceramics Festival, the only Welsh potters

can be found in relation to organising and

who have been recognised in that way. Sadly

initiating projects. An active member of the

as I write this I receive news that Janet has

International Ceramics Festival Committee

died. An era has surely passed.

and for some time its Chair, she was also an initiator of Craft Forum Wales, the Brecon

In 1978 the Welsh Arts Council arranged

sensory garden, the Irish/Welsh project Feile


Clai and, no doubt, much more. In 1998,

craft officer of Arts Council Wales, Roger

the potter and writer Rosemary Cochrane

Lefevre, worked tirelessly for the sector and

stood down after fifteen busy years on the

exhibitions and grant opportunities were

committee. In 1968 the numbers of male and

increased. Student numbers expanded and

female members was roughly equal. Thirty

galleries showing ceramics in a professional

years later in 1998 there were 74 women

way emerged. It had a positive impact on

and 37 men in the organisation of whom 48

South Wales Potters but, in some ways, the

were full-time potters. South Wales Potters

greater institutional support at all levels

has offered good opportunities to women.

can obviate the strong collaborative, grassroots ethos of the earlier period.

Conclusion Over the last fifty years the craft scene in

Are we looking at the life span of a movement?

Wales has flourished especially in ceramics.

Ceramics has virtually disappeared from

The influence of the Crafts Council and

schools and separate courses in higher

publications such as Crafts and Ceramic

education have also melted away, but things

Review raised the profile. In the last two

move on and ceramics are now part of the

decades of the twentieth century the

post-disciplinary scenario of contemporary


art where artists and makers can pick up and learn media as needed and, if they can’t do it themselves, they can collaborate with someone who can. Nevertheless there will always be a place for working in clay, making by hand, and using tools and technology. South Wales Potters has adapted and responded to the changing times and leaves a legacy for the future. The supportive, community spirit of South Wales Potters still has a place fifty years on. Moira Vincentelli Emeritus Professor in Art History and Curator of Ceramics, Aberystwyth University


Julie Dooley, porcelain coloured with stains, oxides and copper wire


Ceramic Celebration An exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the South Wales Potters presenting work from nineteen of the group’s current members. Daniel Boyle, Jason Braham, Rebecca Buck, Mary Cousins, Patia Davies, Julie Dooley, Joe Finch, Christine Gittens, Frank Hamer, Janet Hamer, Walter Keeler, Liz Lawrence, Trevor Lillistone, Alison Lockhead, Ian Rylatt, Micki Schlawsingk, Jeremy Steward, Gill Tennant-Eyles and Peter Wills. The exhibition presents at the following venues in 2014/15 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

31st May – 12th July

Church House Designs

19th July – 23rd August

Craft in the Bay

4th September – 2nd November

National Ceramic Archive, Aberystwyth Arts Centre

8th November – 10th January


Daniel Boyle, Salt glazed stoneware


Jason Braham, Salt glazed stoneware


Rebecca Buck, ‘The Edge VIII’, Black Architectural Clay


Mary Cousins, ‘Tea for two’, Audrey Blackman porcelain, glazed in opaque light turquoise


Patia Davis, ‘Square plate’, Glazed earthenware


Julie Dooley, Coloured porcelain


Joe Finch, Wood fired stoneware


Christine Gittins, ‘Three tall vessels on a plinth’, Bisque-fired in an electric kiln and then saggar-fired using a gas-fired raku kiln


Frank Hamer, reduced stoneware with paper cut-outs under layers of coloured slips in a resist technique


Janet Hamer, oxidised stoneware


Walter Keeler, ‘Extended jug ‘, Lead glazed earthenware


Liz Lawrence, ‘ Lattice in Ochre & Black’ , Porcelain


Trevor Lillistone, Stoneware with turquoise volcanic glaze


Alison Lochhead, ‘Mine memory’, Ceramic, cast iron and mine rocks


Ian Rylatt, ‘Voyager teapot’, Stoneware


Micki Schloessingk, ‘Carafe’, Wood fired, salt glazed stoneware


Jeremy Steward, ‘Teapot’, Black stoneware, ash glaze


Gill Tennant-Eyles, ‘Shoreline vessel’, Reduction gas fired crank clay, finished with oxides, slips and celedon glaze


Peter Wills, Porcelain with white and wood ash glazes, Port Eynon slip


“Ceramic Celebration” A South Wales Potters Touring Exhibition 2014/15. The South Wales Potters would like to thank Moira Vicentelli & Walter Keeler for their articles in this catalogue as well as all the makers who have allowed us to exhibit their work in “Ceramic Celebration” Exhibition Photography: Martin Avery Design: Hillview Design Catalogue produced by Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre. Text ©The Authors and South Wales Potters 2014 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre St.David’s Road Cwmbran Torfaen NP441PD T: +44(0)1633 483321 E: info@lgac.org.uk W: www.lgac.org.uk Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is part of the Arts Council of Wales portfolio of Revenue Funded Organisations. Registered Charity no: 1006933 Company Limited by Guarantee no: 2616241 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Torfaen County Borough Council and Monmouthshire County Council. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without written permission from the publisher.



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