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Ceramics and Art Exhibition
Sat 2nd Dec - Sat 30th Dec 2006
"Raku - The Spirit in the Fire" works by
Tim Andrews,
David Jones and
Emma Johnstone
The ceramic art of Raku, the origins of which lie in the Japanese tea ceremony, is the focus of the December exhibition at The Gallery at Bevere, Worcester. Featuring the works of ceramicists Tim Andrews, David Jones and Emma Johnstone.
The exhibition also features new works by Worcester artist Claire Yates and other house artists. Clare currently lives in the Costa del Sol, but she was born in Birmingham and studied at Stourbridge College of Art and West Surrey College of Art and Design. Her artist father, Alan Yates, lives in Worcester and they exhibited together at The Gallery at Bevere in 2003. Claire works in enhanced water colour, acrylic and mixed media.
Raku is the product of a battle between the elements of fire and smoke. The exciting technique, while an age-old tradition in Japan, has found many followers in western ceramic communities. It is the fastest and possibly the most dramatic method of firing taking less than an hour, then placed in bins containing a variety of substances ie sawdust. As the temperature of the pots reduces they go into thermal shock which manifests itself in fine cracking in the body of the clay which is the main characteristic of Raku.
Tim Andrews has gained an International reputation for his distinctive smoke-fired and raku ceramics. He makes individual Raku work in black and white with linear decoration or burnished muted coloured slips. His pieces have been acquired for both public and private collections and are exhibited widely across the UK and abroad.
Tim is a Fellow of the Craft Potters Association of England and a full member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen (he was Chairman of the selection Committee 1996-98) and a Member of the West Country Potters Association.
Leamington Spa based David Jones graduated in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Warwick in 1974. He has been a Senior Lecturer in the Ceramics Department at the University of Wolverhampton for the past fifteen years and is a Fellow of the Crafts Potter Association.
David says, "My work starts from humble origins, made from clay, and refers to millennia old traditions of containment and pot making. It is informed by the tradition named after the firing process - "Raku". The work is thrown on the potter's wheel because that activity brings with it a quintessential pottery skill that is popularly associated with the medium. I use the marks of process left by throwing and turning the soft clay, before cutting the hard pot."
Emma Johnstone is a London-based contemporary ceramicist who creates work using the dramatic firing process of Raku. Each piece is a unique hollow-thrown vessel, which is Raku fired and gilded with three types of gold and copper leaf. "My life is now spent in my studio doing what I love best, working with clay. These are highly finished pieces, incorporating ground, polished and gilded surfaces, evolved from work started while living in Jerusalem, where I was influenced by ancient pottery and archaeology, becoming involved with the concept of fragments, glimpses and half remembered images. My interest in the bowl form is enduring and the clay itself and the secrets it holds both above and below the surface lead my work.
"All pieces are thrown, then slipped and burnished with terrasigilatta. When leather hard, I cut the base out of the centre of the bowl creating a ring and a disc. When bisque fired, I break the centre disc which is glazed and the whole piece is then raku fired and re-assembled. The rim is often ground back to reveal fine black cracks against a ground of soft greys. I am learning to control this effect through different reducing methods. The small bowl area in the centre of the form is gilded with gold, silver or copper leaf."
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"The Gallery at Bevere on the outskirts of Worcester shows the best of modern/British studio ceramics, along with paintings, glasswork and other crafts in an intimate setting. A regional gallery showing national and international artists!" - David Whiting, Crafts Critic
Open Tuesday - Sunday and Bank Holidays 10.30am - 5.00pm or by appointmentThe Gallery at Bevere, Bevere Lane, Worcester WR3 7RQ • 01905 754 484 • enquiries@beverevivis.com
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