ClayCraft #63

ClayCraft Magazine www.claycraft.co.uk Kelsey Media The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL EDITORIAL Editor: Rachel Graham; claycraft.ed@kelsey.co.uk Consultant editors: Jacqui Atkin, Kevin Millward Contributors: Jacqui Atkin, Linda Bloomfield, Doug Fitch, Kevin Millward, Tracey Parsons, Simon Shaw Project photography: Philip Wilkins p.wilkins@btinternet.com Design: Focused On Design Ltd design@focusedondesign.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Talk Media Sales Simon Hyland, 01732 445327 simon.hyland@talkmediasales.co.uk Talk Media Sales Ad Production Manager: Nick Bond 01732 445325 production@talkmediasales.co.uk MANAGEMENT Chief Operating Officer: Phil Weeden Managing Director: Kevin McCormick Chief Executive: Steve Wright Publisher: Mark Winterton Retail Director: Steve Brown Audience Development Manager: Andy Cotton Events Manager: Kat Chappell Print Production Manager: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Hayley Brown Subscription Marketing Director: Gill Lambert Subscription Marketing Manager: Nick McIntosh Subscriptions 12 issues of ClayCraft are published per annum…

It’s a lovely time of year. The sun has some real heat in it, the hedgerows are full of f lowers and I’ve heard my first cuckoo. Last year I was lucky enough to have a turtle dove in the garden and looking back at the photos, I first saw it on the 1st May, so I’m keeping my eyes peeled and my fingers crossed for a return visit! When it’s like this, one of my favourite things is to have my first cup of coffee outside, quietly, by myself. It’s a f leeting moment of peace in what will inevitably be a very busy day. If you’re a coffee drinker, we have two projects in this issue that will be of interest; one thrown, and the other pinched. You…

Over a period of 26 years, from 1991 to 2017, we travel across India and Pakistan in search of traditional potters, ancient cities, and archaeological and architectural marvels in the company of Jane Gibson, physiotherapist and potter, and her husband Terry, a medical consultant. The book starts in 1992, when Jane and Terry and their family spend a year working in Karachi, Pakistan. We discover that there are few studio potters in Pakistan, but many highly skilled traditional potters or kumars, and this is the beginning of Jane’s interest in these potters. Over the years, Jane and Terry return many times to both Pakistan and India. Everywhere Jane goes she is intent on finding the traditional potters. But these kumars are very lowly artisans, living in poverty and selling their…

If you have a news story, product launch or details of some other topical item you’d like our readers to know about, email claycraft.ed@kelsey.co.uk Now in its 14th year, this free annual event is Harrow Open Studios’ largest exhibition to date, taking place over three weekends in June. A group of over 50 independent and diverse Harrow-based artists from various backgrounds have come together to make up this creative family. The HOS artists work in a myriad of media such as painting, illustration, ceramics, sculpture, wood-turning, textiles, metal, jewellery, photography, printmaking, collage etc. Many of them offer art classes, talks and workshops for all ages and abilities. As well as celebrating their longstanding members, the HOS family is constantly adding new artists to their group. Open to the public from…

The winners of the 2022 British Craft Trade Fair awards were announced on 11 April in an emotional ceremony that saw the British craft community raise a glass together for the first time since 2019. Three ceramicists were among the winners: The Giftware Association Award for Excellence Winner: Erum Aamir Ceramics; The Heart Gallery Best Newcomer Award Winner: Beverley Sommerville Ceramics, and Jenny Chan won joint ‘highly commended’ for The Pyramid Gallery Award for Excellence. A new home for BCTF Next year's BCTF will be taking place from 16th – 18th April 2023 at a new home in the heart of Yorkshire, The Harrogate Convention Centre. This well-established exhibition venue in the heart of Harrogate is a popular choice with retailers, who will benefit from being close to the railway…

A new special exhibition is coming to York Art Gallery, home of the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) for Summer 2022. Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics & Contemporary Art, curated and conceived by Dr Jareh Das in partnership with Two Temple Place, explores artworks by three generations of Black women artists working with clay. Body Vessel Clay spans 70 years of ceramics. In this ground-breaking exhibition, visitors will be able to see works from Nigerian pioneer potter Ladi Kwali and her contemporaries, and international contemporary artists including Bisila Noha, Chinasa Vivian Ezhuga, Dame Magdalene Odundo, Jade Montserrat, Julia Phillips, Phoebe Collings-James and Shawanda Corbett, who all incorporate working with clay as part of their film, performance, painting, and sculpture practice. For Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics & Contemporary…