You are invited to view our February Exhibition

Difference and Diversity in Clay

Featuring the ceramics of Bethan Lloyd Worthington, Clare Crouchman, Ninna Gøtzsche, Annabel Faraday and James and Tilla Waters
and a selection of new works by our professional house artists especially featuring modern and abstract acrylics by artist Mike Healey
Join us for light refreshments and meet some of the makers

on Saturday 3rd February 2007 from 11am - 2pm

Gallery open 10.30am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday and Sunday 4th February

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Ceramics and Art Exhibition
Sat 3^rd Feb - Sat 24^th Feb 2007

"Difference and Diversity in Clay"
Featuring Bethan Lloyd Worthington, Clare Crouchman, Ninna Gøtzsche, Annabel Faraday, James and Tilla Waters
Also new works by house artist Mike Healey and others.

The Gallery at Bevere near Worcester continues to bring the best in studio pottery to new audiences with works by six leading ceramicists.

Bethan Lloyd Worthington

Bethan lives in Old Trafford, Manchester. A winner of the New Designers Contemporary Applied Arts Award at Manchester Metropolitan University, she was selected from around 3000 graduates.

Bethan combines precious, playful and intensely worked surfaces with clean, domestic forms. Working spontaneously, she layers her illustrative drawing style to darkly charming effect. Bethan takes inspiration from whatever is bothering her, be that cynical corporate image, rabbits in neckercheifs or the trials of self-employment; The "Wish You Were Here" set was made prior to 5 months of solo travel. Projected onto its surfaces are a jumble of national stereotypes, train journeys, anxiety and an Agatha Christie novel.

Clare Crouchman

Clare works out of her studio in Bourn, Cambridgeshire. In 1993-5, she lived in Japan and studied ceramics with a Japanese potter, Masanobu Izumihara. On her return, she achieved an MA in Ceramics at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. In 2003, Clare was elected to the membership of 'The Society of Designer Craftsmen'. She has exhibited in the UK, South Korea and Japan.

Clare uses many different types of clay including T-material, crank and Limoges porcelain. The clays are layered and inlayed into each other to build up a richly textured image. Fine lines are etched directly into the clay and a subtle use of oxides and glaze further enhances the surface quality.

Clare says, "I am fascinated by the intricate shapes and asymmetrical forms found in the landscape, both occurring naturally and as a result of human intervention. I am particularly attracted to rhythmical and repetitive patterns that repeat themselves naturally on both a large and small scale. Recently, a trip to New York has drawn my attention to configurations within the urban landscape created by modern cities. With the utilisation of purposefully composed rhythms and textures in my work, I aim to harness a balance between order and disorder and therefore create a dynamic between the carefully selected elements."

Annabel Faraday

Annabel's work epitomises the debate about pottery - is it craft or art?

This exhibition of her work places her work squarely in the fine art category, although for most of us such questions are far less important than the sheer ingenuity and creative flair that is the hallmark of her work. Cliché it may be but this work is excitingly different and uses techniques which she has taken years to perfect. She attended Winchester School of Art and Croydon College of Art in the late 1960's followed by a B.A. (Hons) in Sociology and a PhD at Essex University. Annabel completed a Fine and Applied Arts (Ceramics) course at the City Lit, London in 1991. She exhibits extensively in the UK.

"I make illustrated stoneware vessels which explore a sense of place. I am fascinated with maps and their relationship with landscape, earth and clay. My work brings together vintage maps on the inner surfaces and collaged images from my own photographs of contemporary street art/graffiti on the outside, exploring the interplay of constraint and spontaneity, history and modernity. The forms of the vessels retain a simplicity which provides a 'canvas' for the rich surface imagery."

"Instead of applying transfers to a constructed pot, I print before I build the vessel, using a printing method developed over several years and utilising both sides of the unfired flat sheet of clay, which I've painted with coloured slips. I then hand-build and fire to 1180 degrees, producing a slightly raised metalicised image which forms an integral part of the ceramic body. I have copyright permission from the publishers whose maps I reproduce. I welcome commissions."

James and Tilla Waters

James and Tilla Waters set up their pottery in Carmarthenshire in 2002, where they produce finely thrown stoneware vessels with fine line surface detail. Tilla says, "Our work is a collaboration of our individual skills. Having trained together, there are many cross-overs. The refining and development of our personal style is an organic and continual process. In general terms, James throws the pots and I am concerned with their surface quality."

"For us, ceramics offers the possibility of making objects to be used and enjoyed every day as well as more individually conceived vessels: it's the perfect blend of function and aesthetic."

The final ceramicist is Ninna Gøtzsche. Ninna, who lives in Denmark, produces thrown functional porcelain with inlaid lines.

Ninna says of her work, "I like my pots to be harmonious and simplistic - because I then have the freedom to play with them. Make one lean one way, have an unusual detail one another. I try to work with simplicity in order to give those details more room. My work is white porcelain with inlaid lines of colored clay. The lines play with the simple, yet often surprising forms."

The featured local house artist for February is Mike Healey. He is a painter and Mixed Media Artist based in Worcestershire.

Mike says, "For many years I painted landscapes in the traditional manner, mainly using oils. Since I retired from my work as a Social Worker I have enjoyed more time to explore other forms of expression. Working at abstract design in mixed media I have explored the possibilities of combining stones with metal objects, rags, paper, canvas pieces and other paraphernalia using acrylic paints, U.V.A. as a binding agent. I use watercolours and inks where these seemed appropriate."

"There was a period when I made pictures using mosaics and coloured glass. I have also created large murals (15ft x 20ft) in ceramics and other items in a contemporary theme. My recent paintings are abstract impressionist works in acrylics."

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7th June - 29th June 2008	Henri Matisse at The Gallery - An exhibition of Henri Matisse Original Lithographs
5th April - 1st June 2008	The Art Of Dining - An exhibition of Paintings and Ceramics
1st March - 30th March 2008	From The Same Earth - An exhibition of Pastel Paintings and Ceramics
12th January - 24th February 2008	The Graduate Show - update
12th January - 24th February 2008	The Graduate Show - Work by 17 of the best graduates from 2007 in ceramics and glass
1st December - 30th December 2007	Full Circle - Greece and Bevere - an exhibition of original paintings by Christopher Hughes
3rd November - 25th November 2007	Individual Voices - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
6th October - 28th October 2007	Tradition and Talent - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
1st September - 29th September 2007	Peninsula Exhibition - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
4th August - 25th August 2007	Exploring new boundaries - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
1st July - 28th July 2007	If you go down to the woods today......
2nd June - 28th July 2007	The Craft Potters Association at fifty - a veritable who's who and A-Z of style, technique and expression
5th May - 26th May 2007	"New Pots" solo exhibition featuring stoneware pottery by Phil Rogers
7th April - 28th April 2007	"Spring Surprises - New Vessels" featuring John Jelfs with Claudia Lis and Françoise Dufayard
3rd March - 31st March 2007	"Figures, Objects, Abstracts" featuring John Higgins, Jude Jelfs and Christy Keeney
3rd Feb - 24th Feb 2007	"Difference and Diversity in Clay" by Bethan Lloyd Worthington, Clare Crouchman, Ninna Gøtzsche, Annabel Faraday and James and Tilla Waters
6th Jan - 22nd Jan 2007	"New Faces, New Work" by 2005 Degree Show potters from Harrow and Wolverhampton Schools of Ceramics
2nd Dec - 30th Dec 2006	"Raku - The Spirit in the Fire" works by Tim Andrews, David Jones and Emma Johnstone
4th Nov - 25th Nov 2006	Porcelain - A Capricious Beauty" by Chris Keenan, Jack Doherty and Joanna Howells
7th Oct - 28th Oct 2006	An exhibition of Ceramics by Emma Rodgers and Tina Vlassopulos
2nd Sept - 30th Sept 2006	"Now and Then" by Jitka Palmer and Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain by Roger Lewis
5th Aug - 26th Aug 2006	"Ceramics by Two Potters"
1st July - 29th July 2006	Solo ceramics exhibition by Paul Jackson.
3rd June - 24th June 2006	Ceramics and Art Exhibition - Featuring slipware pottery by Clive Bowen and Michael Eden.
5th May - 27th May 2006	Ceramics Exhibition - Featuring the works of Jane Hamlyn, John Pollex and Gilda Westermann