A celebration of 100 years of friendship and collaboration as we welcome the Japanese Prime Minister and his delegation to St Ives for the G7 Summit Shoji Hamada sitting in front of Old Pottery fireplace. © Courtesy of the Bernard Leach Estate. Image kindly provided by the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts First... Continue Reading →
Newly Discovered Leach Family Photograph
It's incredibly exciting when someone shares 'new' photographs and documents with us. Thanks to a surprise email from Fraser Donachie and his willingness to share his postcard find with us, we have a wonderful image and story to share with you...
Making A Teabowl: A Sensory Journey
Here, Helen Lee provides some fascinating insights into being a volunteer with the Leach Pottery, working alongside the Sensory Trust and our Wednesday Wanderers group - a creative ceramics project for people with dementia and their carers. This voluntary work helped Helen combine her love of ceramics with her background in psychotherapy to reach some... Continue Reading →
Warren MacKenzie: A Tribute
With sadness, we began to hear the news of Warren’s death at the very start of this year receiving messages from potters and his devotees, and seeing obituaries in respected publications alongside boundless expressions of loss on social media. One thing’s for sure: Warren is missed. This post looks at Warren’s relationship with the Leach... Continue Reading →
Katrina Naomi: Our First Poet-In-Residence
I catch up with poet Katrina Naomi halfway through her residency to learn more about her self-confessed love of pottery and her sense of the Leach Pottery.
Leach Pottery Films and Videos
Here's a round-up of some of the Leach Pottery films and videos available online, starting with present material and then historical footage. Contemporary Footage Sensory Trust Tea Party 2018 (1m 39s) Christmas at the Leach 2017 (1m 28s) A School Trip From Mashiko Japan 2017 (2m 35s) Carson Culp - A Year At The Leach... Continue Reading →
Laurence’s Journey to Scotland
I've just caught up with Laurence Eastwood, one of our Production Potters, to find out about his recent trip to see Douglas Fitch and Hannah McAndrew in Scotland which has resulted in some interesting earthenware pots.
Pottery at Plymouth: What the Staff Are Making
We're currently hosting an exhibition of work by the staff of Plymouth College of Art, called 'Plymouth in Practice', in our Cube Gallery. This show ends on 12 March, so I thought I'd share more of it with you in case you can't make to St Ives. The works are by staff teaching ceramics on... Continue Reading →
David Bowie’s Leach Pots: Record-Breaking Prices!
David Bowie’s collection of artworks went on sale at Sotheby’s on the 10th and 11th of November. Amongst the items up for auction were a vase and a small tile by Bernard Leach. The vase with a trademark brushwork design of a leaping salmon went for an astounding £32,500; the tile, with a brushwork pattern... Continue Reading →
Remembering Rick Henham
Rick Henham: born London May 1952, died Penzance October 2016. I had just returned from a holiday in Turkey and was shocked to be told of the sudden death just a few days before of Rick at his home in Penzance. I like the rest of the incumbents at the Gaolyard Studios was badly hit... Continue Reading →