Craftsmen Potters Association William Blake House, Marshall Street, London, W.1. Tel. 01-437 7605 The Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday July 3rd this year, and as usual we were guests of Pamela, Lady Glenconner at her home in Hillsleigh Road, London.
We had a rather lower attendance than usual, but put this down to our oversight in arranging to have the meeting on the last Saturday at Wimbledon.
Chairman of the Council for the past year, Colin Pearson was unable to attend the meeting, but his report was given by Michael Casson. Mick looked upon this as his last act on the Council before his resignation came into effect. He had resigned from the C.P.A. Council, as well as from a number of other Committees and teaching in order to give him more tir.1e for serious potting.
Although I said it at the meeting, I'd like to say again here that there are few members who can compare with Mick in the amount of unselfish work done for C.P.A. over the 12 years in which he has served on the Council. He was my most stalwart helper when we built the old Pot Shop with our own hands over a period of 10 months in 1960. And since then he has always been the one most ready to come forward with an offer of help whenever it was needed, all very much at the expense of his own valuable workshop time. But although we'll miss him on the Council we are comforted by the thought of all those magnificent pots which will come flowing from his wheel.
In my Secretary and Treasurer's report I was in the happy position of being able to report on a net profit for last year of £1,863, and all loans repaid. The Minutes of the meeting which will come to members of the Association shortly, together with a copy of the accounts, will give details of what was discussed at the meeting .
The postal voting (ratified by the meeting) resulted in two new Council Members, Colin Kellam and Peter Dick; both are likely to make a posit i ve contribution to the running of the Association. The Council for the coming year will now be as follows:Paul Barron, Joanna Constantinidis, Emmanual Cooper, Peter Dick, Robert Fournier, Colin Kellam, David Leach, Eileen Lewenstein, John Reeve, Colin Pearson, Marianne de Trey, Robin Welch and Rosemary Wren. David Canter Exhibitions at the Craftsmen Potters Shop Three potters will be showing their range of table ware from September 7-18. They are Peter Dick (wood-fired earthenware) Colin Kellam and Robin Welch (stoneware). Private View by invitation only. Harry and May Davis Th is special exhibition of pottery made at Crewenna Pottery in New Zealand which was booked for earlier in the year, and was postponed because the pots missed the boat, will now be held from October 19-30. Private View by invitation only. Since Harry and May Davis left England in 1962 we have not been able to see their superb pots in this country, and so we feel that thi! is an exhibition not to be missed. Bryan Newman will be having a solus exhibition from November 8-20. He will be showing different themes- such as "boats, drums, landscapes" etc . This, I am sure, will be a most intriguing exhibition . Window Displays at the Craftsmen Potters Shop Terry Bell Hughes will be displaying new work from September 27-0ctober 2. Paul Barron will be following with his display from October 11-18. Exhibition Policy I think it will be of inte re st to print again what I originally wrote in Ceramic Review No.1 regarding exhibition policy. 'As to general exhibitions, the Council agreed to hold 4 to 5 a year . These will consist of either invited potters from abroad or the United Kingdom, of applicants approved by 2
the Council, and will range from Solus Exhibitions occupying the whole of the Shop area, to Group Exhibitions .of not more than 3 potters. Should you wish to apply for one of these please write to me giving some idea of the sort of exhibition you would like, and this will be considered by the Council who will take into account both factors of prestige to C.P .A. and the financial viability.'
Pan Henry
News of Members Bernard Leach is now back in England and it is reported that all the pots he took to Japan were sold.
Harry Davis Two lectures at the Commonwealth Institute In a fascinating talk on the relevance and use of machinery in the studio potter's workshop, Harry Davis spoke first of the characteristics of the studio pottery movement. He said that in its revivalist 'harking back', non conformist stance it showed a reactionary attitude often exacerbated by the mature person coming to pottery with no knowledge or skill but a desire to make pots. This lack of skill combined with the tendency to classify pottery as art, which is also a reactionary attitude, brought about a situation in which the application of technology and the use of machinery in general were despised . Primitive people have no art as such but find pleasure in producing and using mundane things. It is these objects which the potter can provide for society.
While there is not necessarily a connection between technology and creativity, the freedom from repetitious and mechanical work can enable greater freedom to consider, as well as to make pots. There are also similarities between independent craftsmen and poor underdeveloped countries in that while they both lack and need capital equipment it is often only supplied with daunting strings attached. Sophisticated equipment must be fully understood to be useful and must not be so expensive as to tie up too much capital investment.
With the increasing discomfort of cities, groups of people were moving out and, in forming communes, could usefully and productively produce pots. Progress as it is generally interpreted is not improving the quality of life for the majority of the population. As such there is a strong case for the restriction of technological development with emphasis placed on the understanding of present knowledge and its intelligent application to current problems.
Art schools, too, often suffer from this attitude. They think it adds prestige to have large pieces of expensive equipment, much of it I ittle used and very rarely used creatively. Much of this attitude springs from the many art school lecturers, who, having been unable to earn an economic living as potters finally turn their back on technology .
Machinery, however, can save time and conserve energy and, if it can be provided at a reasonable cost, is of grea~ value. It's use must be carefully controlled and the quality of the finished pot must not be sacrificed. In the use of a vacuum filter press and de-airing pug mill, the working strength and plastic throwing qualities of the clay had to be born in mind. These qualities were often improved by these pieces of machinery.
In the second lecture Harry Davis described how he designed and built the pug-mill and vacuum filter press. Plans for the pug-mill will be sold by the Craftsmen Potters Association as soon as possible. Negotiations for the commercial manufacture of the filter press are in hand and details will be announced in due course. An article by Harry Davis will appear in a future issue.
The Craftsmen Potters Association Full Membership (annual subscription £4) is by selection and is open to practising potters in the U.K. Associate Membership (annual subscription £2) is open to everybody interested in pottery. Both fees include Ceramic Review. Junior Membership, under 21, (not including Ceramic Review) 37Y.p. Full details from Pan Henry, Craftsmen Potters Shop, William Blake House, Marshall Street, London W .1. Telephone 01-437 7605. This is also the address of the large retail shop where members work can be seen and purchased. A selection of tools (members 5% discount) and books are also available. Opening hours Monday- Friday 10-5.30 Saturday 10.30-1 p.m.
