You are invited to view our March Ceramics and Art Exhibition

Figures, Objects, Abstracts

Sat 3^rd March - Sat 31^st March 2007
Featuring Ceramists
John Higgins, Jude Jelfs and Christy Keeney
Also new works by local house artist Pascale Bigot and others

Join us for light refreshments and meet some of the makers on Saturday 3rd March 2007 from 11am - 2pm

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

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Ceramics and Art Exhibition
Sat 3^rd March - Sat 31^st March 2007

"Figures, Objects, Abstracts"
Featuring John Higgins, Jude Jelfs and Christy Keeney
Also new works by local house artist Pascale Bigot and others.

This exhibition will provoke and amuse as well as demonstrate the point at which ceramics and fine art meet. Two figurative potters bring their particular perspective to the human form, while John Higgins' thrown altered and slabbed, pots provide a strong contrast. The paintings of local house artist, Pascale Bigot and others add to the richness and diversity of the art on show.

The Ceramists

John Higgins, who is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, makes ceramic vessels that refer most often to architecture, archaeology and everyday objects. A format is decided but he always allows room for spontaneous and expressive handling of the medium. The techniques of slab forming and throwing are used; the clay is heavily grogged to withstand the unusual methods of making and the surfaces are treated simply with slips, stains and oxides. John also has a background of teaching at most levels, including teaching at Leyhill Prison. He gained his BA in 3-D design ceramics at Wolverhampton University and his PGCE teaching certificate at Sussex University. John is a Fellow of the Craft Potters Association and an External Verifier and National Advisor for Ceramics, City and Guilds, London.

Jude Jelfs studied Fine Art, and became a potter when she married John Jelfs. The couple started their studio The Cotswold Pottery at Bourton-on-the-Water in 1973, where all their works are hand-made. Over the last few years, Jude has returned to her roots, combining pottery with painting and sculpture in her current work. Her ceramics range from flat, almost two-dimensional, slab-built vessels, in earthenware or porcelain, to 3-dimensional stoneware pieces. More recently, she has started working in bronze. Jude is a professional member of The Crafts Potters Association.

Christy Keeney started his career at art school in Donegal. Although drawn more towards fine art, he was encouraged to continue working in clay. Whilst developing his throwing skills he became more interested in sculpture. Christy graduated from The Royal College of Art in 1988 and started working from studios in London. After 17 years, he returned to Ireland. His work developed from portrait sculpture to a freer, more two-dimensional form of modelling, inspired by human faces and expressions. He says, "I see my work as three dimensional painting. The form is built up and flattened like a canvas ready to take the drawing. When I work I try to let the moment dictate my progress and the themes that I am dealing with are not as important to me as the over all form they inhabit."

The Artists

French-born Pascale Bigot now lives in Stourbridge and her trademark is a vibrant use of colour in pastels and acrylic. A former student of architecture, mathematician and teacher, Pascale exhibited in France just once a year but since coming to England three years ago now paints and draws every day, saying, "Painting has now become my life - it's an addiction."
Other local house artists with works on show include painters Linda Judkins, Valerie Briggs and Claire Yates; glass maker Martin Andrews and wood turner Mark Hancock.

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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