Tuesday 28 October 2008

Bernard Leach - Relevant in 2008 ?

Yes !
Over the past few days I have been reading the classic pottery book
Bernard Leach
A Potters Book
Because I will be moving to a new workshop sometime towards the end of the year
I felt I would plan out my space by drawing a scale map of the two rooms and cutting out cardboard scale size pieces of equipment.
This led me into reading
chapter VIII- The Workshop
Bernard's description of a workshop is as relevant today as it was when he wrote the book in 1940
He said " An individual potter's workshop means more to him than a mere setting where the routine of production can conveniently go on. Here he has to seek and weigh new Ideas, comparing them and his finished work with the standards of the past and the needs of an unborn future."
The section on selecting a site was lovely to read because it takes you back to a time when England still had it's old roads and tea rooms .
my particular favorite piece is
" A showroom at a good pause on an important motoring road, or at some focus of interest, possibly combined with a tea - room run by a partner, may make the difference between success and failure. It allows the pots to be seen in use in appropriate surroundings and gives the visitor a breathing spell during which to consider unusual purchases".
Back out to the workshop, I had done two hours this morning but this has been playing on my mind all morning so I decided to come in, make a cup of coffee and write this before I lost it and my mind moved onto something else.

2 comments:

Hannah said...

I like the bit in there where he talks about using this new fangled stuff to keep pots damp - plastic! Great eh. Looking forward to seeing your new place. Happy planning.

ang design said...

great piece paul, any way that you can encourage people to take more time and ponder your work is great, it's just nice too sit and absorb the beauty and simplicity of clay..

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