REVIEW BY STEVEN BRANFMAN
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rarely offer a review of a potter’s monograph, portfolio, catalog, or whatever you might call it. Though illustrations and images are usually plentiful, they are usually works of vanity with little to offer in the way of insight, analysis, technical details, or personality. So when the publisher asked me if I’d like him to send me a copy of this book for my perusal, I did what any potter and book lover would do. I replied with a resounding “Yes!” And despite my knowing Phil and having been a fan of his work and his writing (Ash Glazes, Salt Glazing, Throwing Pots) for many years, I was lacking high expectations. Well, let me tell you ...
a salt-glazed jug by Richard Batterham. Chapters 3-5 offers a selection of Rogers’ work fired in oil, salt, and wood kilns. Accompanying the rich photos is text in which Rogers offers his personal comments, technical details, and historical connections.
Phil Rogers: A Portfolio by Phil Rogers, with contributions by David Whiting, Sebastian Blackie, Angela Fina, Sherman Hall. Goldmark Books, $40.
Phil Rogers: A Potter’s Portfolio is a gem of a book. A lovely hardcover, it is built of heavy, bright-white, satin-finished pages with high-quality color photos throughout. Each of the 112 pages is generous in its clean background, allowing the visual impact of the text and more than 100 images to shine. The dedication of the bookmaker’s craft is very important to me, and this book passes my test with flying colors.
Sound familiar? Rogers goes on to tell us of his first teaching experiences, setting up his first pottery studio, his first pottery sales, and the establishment of his first legitimate
In Chapter 2, “Sources of Inspiration,” the author shares a collection of ceramic vessels—historic, recent, and contemporary—that are, in his own words, “… food to nourish the creative spirit.” Among them are a medieval apothecary jar, Korean honey jar, Hamada chawan, and
Chapter 6 contains essays by the four contributing authors. Collectively they offer perspectives, observations, analyses, opinions, and suggestions. Each of the writers brings a different bias, an alternate view, and a unique personality to bear on Phil Rogers’ work and its significance as they have experienced and witnessed themselves.
In Chapter 7, “A Few Technical Details,” Rogers offers some insights into his glazes, clay bodies, and firing methods. (A how-tomake-Phil-Rogers-pots, it is not! That would be careless and would only serve to trivialize a lifelong pursuit of a clay career.) Instead he gives us some explanations, recipes, coaching, and suggestions about how to incorporate his processes into our own. While the subject of Phil Rogers: A Potter’s Portfolio is the pottery of Phil Rogers, the theme of the book is sharing—sharing a life filled with creativity, expression, struggle, effort, relentlessness, and triumph. This is no vanity project. This is the public presentation of a personal journey. It is a privileged view into another person’s life. It is an inspiring chronicle worthy of your attention. [
Steven Branfman is a an accomplished potter and teacher of pottery and ceramics at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, and proprietor of The Potters Shop and School. He may be reached by phone at 781.449.7687 or via e-mail at sbranfpots@ aol.com.
CLAYTIMES·COM n WINTER / SPRING 2013
Seven chapters make up Phil Rogers: A Potter’s Portfolio. It begins with “A Little History,” in which Rogers shares his ceramic autobiography starting with his introduction to clay at Swansea Art College in 1970, as a painting student pursuing a teaching certificate. His attraction to the potter’s art was not unlike that of many of us: “… pottery was a compulsory element of a multi-disciplined course. I had originally gone to college thinking I was going to be a painter, but as soon as I touched the clay, I instinctively knew that here was something I felt comfortable with and could, perhaps, become good at with time and practice.”
pottery in his family’s ancestral town of Rhayader in Mid Wales. His life story continues with a generosity of sharing both major and minor accomplishments, developments, realizations, and milestones. Among other things, Rogers talks about his love of pottery, the making of work, and the distinction between his emotional motivations and inspirations versus the commerce of supporting oneself as an artist. Throughout his written words, Rogers’ commitment to teaching and the rewards gained is both apparent and comforting to me as a reader, fellow potter, and teacher. I hesitate to divulge much more, as my descriptions can only serve to dilute the character and personality of Rogers’ own words. Suffice it to say that there is much more to learn about Rogers’ life and the journey that has taken him to the present point in his career.
Resources I Books & Videos
Phil Rogers Portfolio
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