John working on wheel thrown, flattened forms |
"I began potting when I was seventeen in a small commercial South London pottery. I was drawn to pottery by its unique mixture of art, craft and chemistry. The balance of routine, experiment and discovery seemed to suit my character and my skills. . .
"John moved to St. Ives in the late 1960s. He worked with Bernard Leach, first as an apprentice and later, after a year in France, as a member of staff, during this period he was allowed to develop his own style and had three one-man exhibitions. In 1978 he became only the second potter sent to Japan by the Leach's. There he worked for a year in the pottery town of Tachiqui part of the ancient province of Tamba with his friend from the Leach, Shigeyoshi Ichino. Part of the experience was to help fire the long wood fired naborigama kilns called dragon kilns, so named because of the flames that poured out of the rear end during the firing. His year there culminated in a successful one-man exhibition in Osaka.
When he returned to England he set up his own pottery, firstly in Penzance, then Trencrom and finally in St. Ives itself - where in 1991 he established St Ives Pottery now known as St Ives Ceramics. He worked there until in 1998, when he moved his workshop to The Gaolyard Studios, this allowed him to extend the Gallery space to include the CBS Collection and exhibit a wider range of pottery styles.
John now mainly works for exhibitions and stocking his own Gallery. This has given him an independence that allows him to experiment with a wide range of pottery styles and techniques. His recent exhibitions include Tate St Ives and Galleries in Cork Street, London. Last year “Sky Arts Channel” made a 30minute film of John’s working practice, techniques, and philosophy called “Fired Earth”
Recently John has become a trustee of Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust Ltd. A company set up to preserve and restore the Leach Pottery for the Community. Because of the years John spent at the pottery the project has a particular significance for him. He feels a heartfelt need to put something back to a place that has given him so much.
Techniques
My work now is mainly low fired. The clay body is a white talc body that I mix myself. It has low thermal shock properties that allow me to use raku techniques, and a blowtorch if I feel the need. Some of my pots I fume with metal salts of iron, cobalt, and chrome.
In my most recent work I have been using a photographic technique to project images and patterns generated by computer onto the unfired or biscuit pot.
Another technique I have recently developed is to raku fire pots with a copper slip-glaze and apply paternating chemicals to the fired pot. This starts an erosion process in the glaze, which completes the cycle that a potter starts when he reconstructs eroded materials into pots.
It is a major part of my work to examine and explore the chemistry of nature, and reconstruct objects to my own design.
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Gaolyard
Pottery Studios
