Potters EMERGING
Jack Durling demonstrating African Elephant making at Westdean College.
The magazine is an independent journal. The publishers do not accept any liability for errors or omissions. The views expressed in the features are not necessarily those of the editor. Reproduction in part or whole must be with the consent of the editor. All rights reserved. 2025.
Introduction The online pottery magazine
Welcome to the new edition of the magazine.
As things start to get back to normal it is a delight to profile the Craft’s Council show ‘Collect 25’. Again it was held in Somerset House in central London, which must be one of the most prestigious venues in the capital.
Also featured is the work of Jack Durling who will be at the Ceramic Art London (CAL) show this year. I thought it would be fun to look at the background to being accepted for the show, and Jack’s continued educational work with schools and pottery groups. CAL will be featured in the next edition of the magazine.
The Craft Potters Association continues to be very active and forms an important showcase to new members work, so it is featured in the edition also.
PIK’D
Collect 2025
Cover:
Toni Losey Canadian Collect 2025
Tessa Eastman
Gary Betts Cube Gallery, London
Collect 2025 Somerset House, London
Collect 2025 Somerset House, London
40 galleries from across the globe were exhibiting the works of over 400 living artists who came together for London’s leading annual art fair dedicated to bringing exceptional international contemporary craft and design to a collectors’ market.
Eight new galleries joined Collect 2025 from new regions including Taiwan, Switzerland, Cyprus and across the UK.
Collect stages one-off artworks that are both rich in material and narrative providing fertile ground to discover and commission conversation pieces to enhance interiors, and to discover new names in contemporary craft
Presented annually by the UK’s Crafts Council, Collect returned for its 21 st edition as the leading art fair for collectable contemporary craft and design, taking place at London’s landmark destination Somerset House from 28 February to 2 March 2025
Recognised as an unmissable event at the forefront of the contemporary craft movement, Collect 2025 brought together an expertly curated line -up of 40 specialist galleries from across the globe, featuring over 400 living artists selected by a specialist advisory panel – hailing from over 30 countries including South Korea, Japan, Ukraine, South Africa, Greece, Canada, the UK and many more.
Alison Clark - Collect Open
Chris Turrell –Collect Open
With exquisite works created in the last five years – and many especially commissioned for the fair – collectors, interior designers, architects, art advisor s and wider enthusiasts, were vying with arts institutions, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, to buy, commission and invest in the very best in contemporary craft. As well as the seasoned collectors buying at the luxury end of the market with pieces spanning up to £50,000+, Collect encourages visitors at the beginning of their collecting journey with works starting at £500.
The range of disciplines and materials at Collect spreads widely including ceramics, glass, lacquer, furniture, art jewellery, metalwork, textile and fibre, wood and paper, and pieces embracing more unusual materials such as resin, beeswax, denim and plastics as well as reused and repurposed materials – all set against the stunning backdrop of the neo-classical design of Somerset House.
“At a time when contemporary craft has never been more sought after, Collect continues to be the authority, and only fair, dedicated to presenting established and new galleries showcasing the freshest and most exciting contemporary craft in today’s market. Alongside some of the biggest names, there are newer artists to discover, revealing the breadth of craft skills today. The fair continues to be a vital market incubator connecting galleries, dealers and artists with high net worth collectors, interior designers and more, and we very much look forward to welcoming visitors to this next edition,” shares Isobel Dennis, Collect Fair Director.
“The UK is blessed with an incredibly rich and fertile craft ecology that holds its own on an international stage. Collect offers a key moment annually to celebrate the wonder of craft, and provide a focal point for connection and inspiration. Its global outlook attracts collectors, interior designers, and a growing audience of craft enthusiasts who recognise the fair as the destination for collectible craft from makers at the top of their game ,” said Natalie Melton, Crafts Council’s Executive Director.
Anne Athena Danish Alveston Fine Arts Ltd, London
Lise Herud Braten –Norwegian –Cavaliero Finn. London & East Devon
Myung Nam An – Korean Cube Gallery, London
New Galleries
Providing an unrivalled opportunity to acquire new, museum-quality contemporary craft from international living artists, Collect is delighted to welcome eight exceptional new galleries to its roster who will further push the boundaries of this edition’s curation.
• &Gallery (Edinburgh) will showcase a series of artworks that delve into the intricate relationship between structure, form, and the passage of time through the works of three distinguished a rtists: Rebecca Appleby, Derek Wilson, and Richard Perry including both wall -based and three-dimensional sculptural ceramics.
• The Swiss- based gallery AIFA (Verbier) focuses on Japanese contemporary art and will present the work of three young female ceramists who are venturing beyond the conventional boundaries of their medium: Sayuri Ikake, Chisato Yasui and Teruri Yamawaki – the direct successors of a wave of female artists who emerged after World War II from a centuries-old art form traditionally maledominated in Japan.
• Bluerider ART (Taipei, Shanghai, London) was founded in 2013 by Elsa Wang, a successful IT entrepreneur in Taipei. With two galleries in Taipei, she set up a space in Shanghai in 2021 and then in London’s Mayfair in 2023. The gallery’s group presentation will include works by Norwegian installation artist Kari Anne Helleberg Bahri who restitches old clothes, rags, and fragments of fabrics to create her own language in textile art focusing on the theme of limitations, expectations, regulations, and isolation; and contemporary Swiss artist Marck renowned for his digital and materi al sculpture addressing societal issues through themes of frames, women, viewing, and interaction.
Ann Christopher RA
Uriel Caspi – NetherlandsCollect Open
Louise Bell (first time at Collect) DesignNation
• First Of March (Swansea) represents a unique community of world class makers living and working in Wales and will showcase a group presentation of in beeswax from h er urban garden studio in established and emerging makers articulating their own contemporary and compelling story of exquisite Welsh craft skills including Annette Marie Townsend – an interdisciplinary artist specialising in the field of natural history, sculpting Cardiff.
• Galerie Mélissa Paul (London) will present a debut at the fair and a first solo show in the UK for French ceramicist and sculptor Agnes Debizet showcasing a room of exceptional ceramic furni ture and scaled up clay sculptures inspired by fungi. For the past 40 years she has made a name for herself worldwide thanks to her singular and unusual approach to the craft.
• Former Saatchi Gallery curator, Jenny Blyth Fine Art (Oxford) will exhibit a solo presentation by textile and ceramic artist Susan Moxley debuting her newest series with strong connections to Greece. Her textile works tell stories from wedding nights to storms that rage across Kythera where the artist lives part of the year and as the birthplace to Aphrodite, the artist will also show ceramic vessels that reference the harsh reality of life for women over generations, whilst acknowledging their beauty.
NM Art and Design (Limassol, London) is a newly established gallery supporting young talents across the world and aims to erase geographical and creative barriers. Its group presentation will serve as a metaphor for the human ability to shape and redefine our environments and our lives through the choices we make.
• The Cold Press (London, Norfolk) is a gallery and artists’ residence located in an exquisitely renovated 300- year-old building in London's Spitalfields. The gallery will exhibit a curated collection of three artists: Andrea Walsh , Noriyasu Soda and Annick Tapernoux
Jemma Gowland –Cynthia Corbett Gallery
Marice Cumber (first time at Collect) Represented by Candida Stevens Gallery
Below: Matt Smith
The Huntress, 2025
Black Parian and Antique Porcelain
Cynthia Corbett Gallery
Running in Circles 39x36x17 cm 2024
White earthenware, underglaze, glaze, gold lustre, wooden dowel
Teresa Bergen
Collect Open
Alongside the galleries, Collect Open, t he fair’s platform for experimental proposals and installations by individual artists and collectives, will present ten exciting new projects by artists hailing from Austria, The Netherlands, China, Ireland, and across the UK.
Collect Open participants ar e selected by a dedicated expert advisory panel and are invited to produce work that challenges material, social, political or personal perceptions.
Highlights include Darren Appiagyei, a wood artist whose project is entitled ‘Growth’ and touches on the very personal story of his mother who lived with fibroids for many years, a noncancerous condition that affects women and is particularly prevalent in black women. Having lost his mother four years ago, this collection of works will sensitively reflect the repetition, texture and deterioration he saw over a period of 16 years.
Another personal story will be represented by textile artist Michelle House and her project ‘What you Stole from Me’ focuses on Alzheimer’s, loss, love and anger, explored in a series of three hand-printed and stitched textile artworks.
The work developed during her mother’s 13 years with Alzheimer’s is an exploration of the gradual transition of an ordered mind to one where identity fades along with a lifetime’s knowledge, skills and relationships.
Above: Chisato Yasui (first time at Collect). Japanese. AIFA (new to Collect)
Left: Teruri Yamawaki (first time at Collect) Represented by AIFA (new to Collect) Japanese.
Matt Smith
Untold Lives Series of 12 meat platters, 2023. Shame: The Sad and Melancholy Tale of Gustavus Guydickens, 1730 -1802.
Guydickens was a Gentleman Usher in the court of Queen Charlotte from 1783. He was accused of having sex with a younger man in Hyde Park near Kensington Palace and his life fell apart.
Represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery was honoured with the prestigious Brookfield Properties Craft Award 2025.
Ebony Russell
Inspired by historical engravings and vintage imagery, Sonja meticulously curates and assembles collages that offer witty, playful, and sometimes satirical reflections on life and the human conditio n.
Each plate serves as a canvas for narrative, where old -world aesthetics meet modern day musings.
Sonja Kastner
South African ceramic artist based in Cape Town.
Contemporary Ceramics
63 Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury
London WC1B 3BF
Contemporary Ceramics gallery and shop exhibits the greatest collectable names in British ceramics along with the most up and coming artists of today. The distinguished makers are all members of the Craft Potters Association.
Right up to November, there are no less than nine more shows to look forward to at Contemporary Ceramics Gallery in central London. In turn Adam Buick , Anna Lambert , Bev Bell-Hughes, Irena Sibrijns and Paul Jackson together with Richard Phethean will feature through to July, followed by Patricia Shone, Walter Keeler, Ant & Di Edmonds, as well as David Binns with Paul Wearing in the latter half of the year.
Anna Lambert
New work.
03-26 April 2025
Anna Lambert’s ceramics reflect an interest in place, exploring narratives relating to climate change and its effect on her local landscapes, farmland and the regeneration of orchards.
Each piece develops during the making, using drawing as a starting point and taking into account the abstract qualities of pots.
Fine pliable sheets of clay are assembled then altered and fettled. They are painted with multiple layers of coloured slips, often with darker underpainting and further layers of stencil work and sgraffito, then fired to 1090°C.
“I build up the surfaces of my pieces spontaneously, riffing on ideas of space, narrative and joy. I get to a point where I can push things a bit, hoping something exciting will happen – and sometimes it does”.
Bev BellHughes
Pinching Memories. 01 -24 May 2025.
Bev Bell-Hughes lives immersed in the mountainous and costal surroundings of North Wales – each day an opportunity to journey, looking and experiencing nature’s change. Ideas will form subconsciously in her mind relating to observations past; marks left in the sand by the receding tide; sea weeds flowing in ribbons; the erosion of surfaces be they shells, rocks, driftwood or bone.
With no predetermined design for how a finished piece will eventually look, Bev makes intuitively with flattened coils into which sand and other clays are added to change their workability and texture. The clay is pushed and pinched into shapes that echo Bev’s memories of the landscape around her, craters and holes immerging in the material’s surface as each organic form builds. 1 7
“The work has a strong tactile quality, as does the natural world. I don’t wish to imitate nature but aspire to echo the process of nature”.
Irena Sibrijns
New slipware. 29 May-21 June 2025.
Inspired by an avid interest in 20th century English decorative arts tradition Irena Sibrijns creates exquisite, and entirely unique, ornamental and functional pieces with equal enthusiasm.
Using a wide variety of decorating techniques such as wax and latex resist, slip trailing and sgraffito Irena creates unique and elaborate patterns and pictures on her thrown and hand-built work, often featuring natural forms. Slips saturated with stains and oxides allow her to form a process similar to painting on canvas, where building up and layering each image allows the work to portray its very own individual look and character.
“Everything created, either functional or decorative, has equal importance, and the integrity of this thought is the driving force behind my daily practice as a potter”
Paul Jackson & Richard Phethean.
New work. 26 June – 19 July
Paul Jackson has developed various ranges of highly decorated ware. More recently, Paul has been influenced by Russian and Islamic art forms and this process can be seen in the painterly abstraction on some of his decorative motifs.
The driving force behind all Paul’s work is energy which expresses his Cornish surroundings with their strong sense of colour and style.
Paul uses white earthenware to construct his energetic and sinuous forms. The clay allows for the dynamic shaping of the pieces which form the vessels. They go on to be given diverse and colourful decoration.
Richard Phethean is a long-established professional potter whose work has been exhibited and collected widely across the UK and Europe.
He is a Fellow of, and previous Chair of the Craft Potters Association, a member of the Cornwall Crafts Association and of the Penwith Society of Artists.
Making thrown, altered and assembled vessels in coarse textured red and black earthenware clays he decorates his pieces using brushed slips and resist techniques.
His current work combines references to ancient pottery, European slipware traditions and early twentieth century abstract painting.
Ceramic Art London 2025 Preview: Jack Durling
Kensington Olympia West 9-11 May
To be chosen for Ceramic Art London (CAL) is an important achievement as it marks your acceptance as a maker. But what goes into the preparations for a major show. Here, Jack Durling shares his experiences with this year’s show in his own words.
“The Golden Hare pictured was a subject I put together to ensure I promoted the show and my self to my clients. It was something I wanted to make a big announcement about for 2025. I am actually making hares at the moment and exploring the forms. There will be a similar piece to the one pictured, but not the same. Every piece is bespoke, and it has already sold. It has proved very popular with visitors and is the image I use on my business cards currently.
For CAL I made my application submission online, but I have had it in my diary for a long time. I made sure to get my best representative images together well in advance of my application.
Currently I am using my sketchbook to explore ideas in development. There are a couple of pieces I have set aside for the show already, different stages ie bone dry, still being sculpted or awaiting a firing. I want to put together a c ohesive collection of work that has challenged my skills but also my ideas.
Generally I have time to work on my collections until May. Then I shall be trying to complete all work two or three weeks prior, at the latest, before the show opens. It's important that I’ll also have time to photograph and document my work and select the best for the show too.
• Blushing Hippo, Brisk Walk (Sold at Great Northern, now lives in Northern Ireland)
Golden Hare, Breeze (On display at The Ivy House Gallery, Wales)
The costs involved for doing any show can soon mount-up. You need to pay for your stand fees, as well as transportation. Creating the work itself also costs money in terms of time and materials and turning away other work while you are preparing for the show. Insurance is also something you need to have. However, in terms of accommodation I would normally approach other makers to group book somewhere, but on this occasion I will be staying with my cousin.
I am interested to see who will attend the show and if possible find out if visitors are new to the show or regular attendees? CAL is held in high regard in both the ceramic world and by collectors. For those finding their way in the ceramic world it is a pinnacle show in any ceramicist's career. My first stockist was and still is in London. I hope for a mixed audience but expect people who have a passion for ceramics in general from collectors to general enthusiasts.
Then there is the drama of setting-up your stand. For CAL you need to be in the Thursday before the show. However, we do have plenty of time for set up. For me this happens even before the show and I will be drawing up layouts and testing out my stand in the comfort of my workshop's courtyard before the show. My stand number at CAL is 101.
It has been a dream of mine to be involved in this show. You set goals in your career as a maker, something that you’ll refer to as a pinnacle stepping stone or an accol ade to your career. For me this show I feel will be this. I really am excited to be involved in this show and want to ensure I produce some of my best work to date for this show, so I would like to thank the Craft Potters Association for this opportunity.
Being associated with CAL as an exhibitor I am sure will have an impact on my business development. For me I am thinking of it already as being a stepping-stone and cementing and reaffirming my development as a ceramicist”.
Tel: +44 (0)1273 674511 Mob: +44 (0)7748 649680
Contact details: http://www.jackdurling.co.uk/
Indian Rhino Calf, with Ox Peckers (reserved to be shown at CAL)
Jack teaching at Westdean College, African Hippo
Resting Polar Bear (Sold at Art in Clay Farnham 2024)
Antarctic Exhibition, Penguin Summit - This piece is currently on display at Menagerie Exhibition, National Glass Centre, Sunderland
About Jack Durling Ceramic Art London, Kensington
Olympia May 2025
Jack is an artist based in Brighton, at Rosehill Workshops for the past ten years now. He learnt to handbuild in clay from around the age of 15, and drawing inspiration from the wonders of the natural world to create unique ceramic sculptures that pay homage to various animal species. His creations stand out for their intricate decorative details, achieved through the use of lustres and additions. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these sculptures convey subtle environmental and conservation messages, forming a visual language. Jack's work involves hand-building the sculptures using diverse techniques, guided by illustrations that come to life in clay and reflect his distinctive style.
As a child, Jack spent a significant time in Dungeness, a place renowned for its untamed landscapes and rich textures. It was there that his fascination with wildlife took root, leading to the development of textural contrasts as a recognizable hallmark of his work. Today he lives near the borders of the Southdowns National Park, and is inspired equally by what is on his doorstep to the more exotic and endangered wildlife across the world. Jack's artistic achievements include being an alumnus of the Craft Council and having his pieces featured in their permanent collection.
He regularly exhibits his work in prestigious national shows and is represented by esteemed galleries throughout the UK. Additionally, Jack shares his expertise as a tutor at the esteemed West Dean College of Art and Craft Conservation. He has also run visiting workshops at other institutions. As of September 2024 Jack is able to teach directly from his workshop in Brighton.
One of Jack's notable contributions is the creation of the Shared Memories Mural, a freestanding public art sculpture installed in Maidstone's Mote Park in 2023. This permanent publ ic sculpture showcases his talent and commitment to the arts.
His dedication to animal welfare is in having donated to animal protection and wildlife charities. His efforts have garnered recognition, as he was shortlisted and commended as an artist for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of The Year 2022, specifically for his captivating Penguin Colony artwork. In addition to his accomplishments, Jack's work has gained exposure through its appearance in the Amazon series "The Power" and the sixth and seventh season of "The Great Pottery Throw Down."
Visiting Artist Workshop, Valley Park School, Maidstone, Kent. Below: Workshop held at University of Brighton
Craft Potters Association
New Members Show 2025
This show ran from the 6th February to 1st March 2025. It featured the work of 17 new members to the CPA.
Kay Aplin, Mark Dally, Toni de Jesus, Sharon Griffin, Gaby Guz, Jack Hardie, Juliet Macleod, Derek Matthews, Ulla Mead, Rachel Peters, Saeri Sao, Carol Sinclair, Tarragon Smith, Emily Stubbs, Malory Tate, Angela Verdon, Sarah Villeneau.
Sharon Griffin
Mark Dally
Sarah Villeneau
Derek Matthews
Tarragon Smith
Jack Hardie
Toni de Jesus
Kay Aplin
Emily Stubbs
Mark Dally
Ulla Mead
Saeri Seo
Rachel Peters
Oddkin and Mycelium by Jo Pearl
‘Oddkin celebrates the awe-inspiring biodiversity found in the ground beneath our feet. Afterall a single cup of healthy soil contains around 200 billion bacteria, 20 million protozoa, 100,000 nematodes, 100,000 meters of fungi and probably one earthworm.
In doing so, Oddkin attempts to overcome preconceptions about ‘dirt’ and create a counterpoint to current squeamishness and germaphobia relating to soil. Using clay to explore this underground world feels organic and appropriate, as clay is part of soil. By playing with scale, Pearl is magnifying the oddkin’s importance, making these microscopic creatures visible and revealing their myriad of unexpected forms.
Ceramic nematodes, rotifers, bacteria, amoeba, and protozoa are gently enlivened, all hanging by a thread, mirroring their precariousness in the face of industrial farming practices. The work’s title alludes to critical thinker Donna Haraway’s coinage ‘making oddkin’, which describes the need for novel combinations of, and collaborations between humans and non-humans, without whom there is no food or life on earth. We need to fall in love with the soil, and the beings that live there. They are our oddkin.
From the 23rd Jan, the show was exhibiting at Somerset House's group show ‘Soil’ –For this, I created Oddkin , my most ambitious installation to date with over 100 ceramic microorganisms each hanging by a thread. Also visitors wre able to see Unearthed – Mycelium (2023) along the way (this was the poster theme for the whole exhibition also). These pieces are a celebration of the awe -inspiring biodiversity in the biome beneath us.
Unearthed – Mycelium is a sculpted ceramic frieze representing a slice through top soil revealing plants and fungi above ground and their connected roots and mycelium strands below – an entanglement of life, symbiotically conjoined.
This panel in fact came out of the clay stop-frame animation aspect of Pearl’s practice. The underground mycelium network was gradually drawn with liquid clay, and each creeping extension of the mycelium captured photographically via stop-motion software, and edited into a sequence in Unearthed a short clay animated film.
This campaigning short is in essence a bug and bacteria ballet set to waltzing classical music. At the end of the shoot, the clay panel was dried and kiln-fired to transfix it ceramically. Porcelain white plants and fungi were then sculpted and inserted into the panel expressing the fragility, connectedness, and tantalising close proximity of this symbiotic network.
Some of the major shows for 2025
Contemporary Ceramics
(Craft Potters Association)
Members show 6th February to 1st March.
Adam Buick 6th March to 29th March.
63 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3BF www.contemporaryceramics.uk
Contemporary Ceramics is a gallery and shop located opposite the British Museum in central London. Selling the very best in British studio ceramics. You will find the work of over 80 makers at any one time. And each are a member of the Craft Potters Association.
Collect (Crafts Council)
Returning for its 21 st edition from 28 February to 2 March 2025 at London’s Somerset House.
Collect 2025 presents new museum-quality artworks to the collectors’ market, with all works made within the last five years and many especially for the fair. Eight new galleries will join the line- up of 40 specialist galleries from across the globe, representing over 400 living international artists, from over 30 countries, all at the top of their game and pushing the boundaries of their craft.
Bo oking in advance is advised. Please see the website for details.
Tube stations are Charring Cross or Covent Garden. Parking is impossible.
All images are from previous years
Some of the major shows for 2025
New Designers
Business Design Centre, 2nd to 12 th July 2025
This is the show which brings together Art Colleges from all over the country. It’s so big it is divided into two shows, so watch their website for details. Nearest tube is Angel.
Royal College of Art –Ceramics and Glass
19 – 22 June 2025
The MA Ceramics and Glass course is based in the Woo Building, RCA Battersea Campus. The students graduating in 2025 have come from all over the world.
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Show
17 June – 17 August 2025. Main Galleries, Burlington House. TueGreen Park.
Held every year without interruption since 1769, the Summer Exhibition showcases a diverse array of contemporary works, including ceramics, prints, paintings, film, photography, sculpture, and architectural work.
Some of the major shows for 2025
All images are from previous years
British Ceramics Biennial
Stoke-on-Trent September 2025
The next edition of the British Ceramics Biennial will run from 6 September to 19 October 2025, bringing together a dynamic programme of free exhibitions, screenings, talks and events that shine a light on Stoke- on -Trent’s industrial heritage and creative edge.
Hot on the heels of Stoke -on -Trent being named a World Craft City, and in the year that the city celebrates its centenary, the 2025 Biennial will spotlight leading contemporary ceramic artists and introduce work by fresh new talent, animating historic buildings and unexpected places with clay.
As well as staging the single largest ceramics event in the UK, British Ceramics Biennial runs an engaging year-round programme of artists’ commissions, learning and community projects in Stoke- on -Trent, with a vision of making change through clay. This feeds into the Biennial programme.
Potfest 2025
Potfest SE – Glynde Place April 25th – 27 th
Potfest in the Pens (Penrith) Spring (TBC)
Potfest Scotland – Scone Palace June 6th – 8 th
Potfest by The Lake – Compton Verney June 20th – 22 nd
Potfest SW – Shaftsbury July 11th – 13 th
Potfest in The Park – Hutton -in -The -Forest July 25 th -27 th
Potfest Suffolk – Haughley Park August 8 th – 10 th
Potfest in The Pens (Penrith) Autumn (TBC)
Porfest in The Pens – Melton Mowbray Nove mber 7th 9 th
Potfest in The Pens Scotland November 21st – 23rd
Some of the major shows for 2025
Ceramic Art London (CAL)
At last year’s venueKensington Olympia West, London. This is a major show from the Craft Potters Association.
Allow time if travelling by public transport, but well worth the effort.
The hugely popular Ceramic Art London fair celebrates its 21st year in 2025. It will run from Friday – Sunday, May 9-11, 2025, at Olympia with a private view on Thursday, May 8, 2025 Organised by The Craft Potters Association, it is Europe’s premier ceramics fair and attracts thousands of visitors annually. In 2024 it moved to the larger space of Olympia West to allow the fair to expand.
There will be 120 makers exhibiting at the 2025 edition with prices ranging from £50 to £10,000.
Ceramic Art London has a strong international element with makers coming from as far afield as Canada, South Korea and Europe among others.
Book Review Teaching Creative Workshops In Person and Online
By Patricia van den Akker
Published 20 February 2025 by the Herbert Press| Paperback | 256pp | £30.00 | 9781789941784
This handbook goes into all aspects of planning, delivering, pricing and marketing quality creative workshops for adults. Throughout you will be curating your unique training program for your ideal students.
You’ll learn how to teach your skills more creatively and confidently, whilst juggling finance, marketing and your own artistic practice. As well as checklists, expert tips, FAQs and action points there are case studies with a wide variety of artists who successfully teach a range of topics such as printmaking, embroidery, jewellery-making, ceramics and hand-weaving.
Creative business adviser, trainer and coach Patricia van den Akker, teaches you how to become a more confident teacher, and how to promote your creative training to make your teaching profitable, whether delivering to beginners, enthusiastic hobbyists, peers or specialist groups. Photo above: Lindsey Campbell of Hello Hydrangea teaching an in- person class.
Patricia van den Akker is the director of The Design Trust, an online business school for creative professionals. Patricia regularly teaches creative professional development, both online and in person. She works with a wide variety of creative organisations and art schools, including Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, the Royal College of Art, Etsy, Folksy, GNCCF
Book Review Porcelain and Bone China
Second Edition
By Sasha Wardell
Published by The Crowood Press
www.crowood.com
ISBN0978 1 78500 679 1
£19.99
This is a remarkable book in that it is aimed at those ceramic makers who have acquired some knowledge of working with stoneware and earthenware bodies and who are now looking to master the art of porcelain, which is not to be confused with bone china ware.
The first question is probably what is different about the second edition? The answer is that it examines emerging technologies and new materials. This can be found at the end of the book.
Covered throughout the book are chapters on recipes, throwing, hand building and slip casting. Then there are chapters on decorating techniques with glazes and firing. Latterly there are examples from designers/makers from with the current industry and a look at advanced technologies. But starting the book is a brief historical outline on how porcelain and bone china has been used.
New editions to this edition is a chapter on advanced technology and emerging technologies and new materials. The former takes a snapshot of the new possibilities open to the material. The use of CADCAM (Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacture) offer new and exciting possibilities within the ceramic industries. The book gives an outline to this development and quotes the work of some of the makers using it today, such as Brian Adams from the UK. His work uses computer visualisation skills and layer manufacturing technologies to generate forms of great complexity as a computer image, and this in turn is translated into actual objects.
The chapter on new technologies and materials looks at 3D printing, waterjet cutting and laser cutting.In it Michel Eden describes it as – “ £3 printing is a term used to describe all types of additive manufacturing, which originally r to a technique whereby layers of powder are fused together with a liquid into a form dictated by 3D design data instruction.”
As with all useful books this one contains an appendix of information on slips, colours and glazes. There is a comprehensive glossary, bibliography for further reading and a list of suppliers.
News Item…
ELIZABETH FRITSCH: OTHERWORLDLY VESSELS
8
March 2025 to February 2026 at The Hepworth
Wakefield
This exhibition brings together over 100 works made between 1974 and 2013, drawn largely from the artist’s own rarely seen private collection. Initially trained as a classical musician, Fritsch taught herself to make hand-built pots before enrolling at the Royal College of Art to study ceramics under Hans Coper, Eduardo Paolozzi and Lucie Rie. The show explores Fritsch’s ground-breaking forms, the unique techniques she developed and the key influences that shaped her work across four decades of her career. Elizabeth Fritsch’s pioneering vision stands at the forefront of modern British studio ceramics, and remains a major influence for present and future artists.
“Elizabeth Fritsch is regarded as one of the UK’s leading artists working with clay, and museums and collectors across the world have been admirers of her work for decades. This exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield is an important moment to bring public attention to Fritsch’s significant role in the development of British ceramics, gaining deeper understanding of her creative process and enjoying the beauty of her unique works.” - Adrian Sassoon
News Item…
British Ceramics Biennial returns to Stoke-on-Trent in September 2025
The next edition of the British Ceramics Biennial will run from 6 September to 19 October 2025, bringing together a dynamic programme of free exhibitions, screenings, talks and events that shine a light on Stoke-on-Trent’s industrial heritage and creative edge.
Hot on the heels of Stoke-on-Trent being named a World Craft City, and in the year that the city celebrates its centenary, the 2025 Biennial will spotlight leading contemporary ceramic artists and introduce work by fresh new talent, animating historic buildings and unexpected places with clay.
As well as staging the single largest ceramics event in the UK, British Ceramics Biennial runs an engaging year-round programme of artists’ commissions, learning and community projects in Stoke-on-Trent, with a vision of making change through clay. This feeds into the Biennial programme.
The 2025 British Ceramics Biennial programme will be presented in a range of spaces that draw on Stoke- on-Trent’s rich industrial past. Venue and programme details will be announced in spring 2025.
www.britishceramicsbiennial.com
