Nic Collins - Monograph 2011

NIC COLLINS

GOLDMARK

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This is a magnificent collection of work of the highest quality, created by the heart and hands of a phenomenally skilled and intensely dedicated master.

Doug Fitch

front cover Pot number 124

Price ÂŁ10

NIC COLLINS

NIC COLLINS

Essay by Doug Fitch

GOLDMARK 2011

Nic Collins

Nic Collins and I share a friendship that spans more than twenty five years. It is an honour to have been asked by him to write these words. This is not a deeply philosophical text, but a simple recollection by a close friend, of the stepping stones in Nic’s career that have ultimately led to the creation of the breathtaking body of work that is presented in this exhibition.

We studied ceramics together at Derby College of Higher Education in the early eighties. I recall vividly my first sight of this man when he entered the college ceramics studio. He was a few years my senior, with a heavy moustache and a thick plait that ran the length of his back. He carried with him a reserved presence - in truth, the first time I saw him I was a bit scared of him. This initial impression of him had overlooked the generosity, the sensitivity, the honesty and the humour of his temperament that very soon became apparent as I got to know him. Similarly, the awe-inspiring pots that fill these pages represent each of these characteristics and challenge the viewer to look longer and deeper at the rugged forms, to see the spirit within.

I doubt that Nic could bring himself to make pots by any other means. Before going to college, he had already discovered the alchemic enchantment of the process. He had dug clay from his local river bank, taught himself to throw on a kickwheel and fired the resulting pots in a simple wood-fuelled kiln that he had built at his home in Stratford. These early experiments with earth and fire initiated an elementary attitude to the manner in

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which he has always approached the process, the use of locally sourced clay, transformed into hard-fired ceramic, by the application of naked flames.

He was a motivated student. College days were invested in building and firing kilns, fuelled with wood or oil – always real fire, the challenges encountered during the journey of the process of firing as important an element as the finished results.

His kilns were filled with stoneware pots - mugs, jugs, jars and bowls, the influence of English medieval pottery, clearly evident in their forms, as it is to this day.

After graduating, he developed his skills, working in potteries in Italy and then Germany, before returning to England in 1988, to establish Powdermills Pottery in Devon.

Powdermills Pottery is situated along a track, leading from one of the sparsely populated, but busy tourist routes that traverse Dartmoor. It is a beautiful and remote location, situated at the foot of a rugged, granite-strewn tor, midst barren moorland, punctuated with trees that are stunted and stretched sideways by the prevailing wind. Dartmoor is a place where one might feel intimately allied to nature and this relationship with the natural world has always been evident in Nic’s pots, which emanate the tones and textures of his rural environment.

Initially, his Powdermills pots were predominantly domestic wares, which included large jugs, their scale limited only by the size of his 30 ftÂł kiln chamber.

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In 1991, it was the impact of a visit to England by the Japanese potter, Shiro Tsajumira that was to determine a sudden development in the direction of Nic’s work.

Shiro had not descended from any great potting dynasty; he was the son of a dairy farmer, a first generation potter. I was talking with Nic recently about Shiro. He related how, at their first meeting, he had watched him firing a kiln that had been assembled in just four hours. Flames were bursting from the numerous holes in its apparently haphazard structure. It was a kiln that challenged the rules - it leaked flames through gaps in the roughly piled brickwork and it appeared that because of its slapdash construction it would be liable to cool too fast, with the risk of destroying its precious cargo.

Upon returning the next day to witness the kiln opening and expecting to see the contents ruined, Nic experienced an extraordinary epiphany. When the first pot was withdrawn from the chamber, he recalled how he was emotionally stirred by the qualities of the work. The pots bore nothing of the gentle subtleties of conventional wood firing to which he was accustomed, where a pot’s exterior might be lightly toasted by the flame. Instead, they were coated with thick, runny glazes, in tones of green, brown and yellow, where Shiro had poured buckets of ash on to the hot pots during the firing. The ash deposited on the surfaces of the pots had melted in the intense heat and had subsequently frozen upon cooling, to form glaze.

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Uninhibited, Shiro made things by his own unique methods, inventing techniques in order to realise his work and although the forms he made alluded to traditional pots, he was unrestricted by any rules or expectations that a tradition might perhaps impose, in terms of either technical approach, or philosophy.

This appealed to Nic, who until this time, had felt as though he had no master to look up to and thus none of the security that having roots might provide. He realised however, upon meeting Shiro, that he also was free from the restrictions or values that working within a particular set of traditional ethics might encompass.

It was a life-changing revelation that led to the construction of the first of Nic’s huge anagama kilns in 1991.

Stifled at Powdermills and with the constant interruptions from passing tourists to whom his work had become increasingly difficult to understand, he grew ever more aware that he required seclusion and solitude to enable him to focus on his life’s work.

Nic has never been a man to allow the honesty of his creative practice to be compromised or influenced by market forces and in 1998, he left Powdermills. It was a brave and perceptive decision to sacrifice a workshop on a major tourist route, in favour of the secluded and at that time, derelict barn on the

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outskirts of Moretonhampstead, that has been his home and workplace ever since.

These were difficult times that somehow, against the odds, strengthened his resolve and without losing his focus, he channelled his energy into converting the barn into a home and workshop with dogged determination, using the vast array of practical skills that have always come readily to his hands. He began to design and construct large kilns that would have the capacity to hold his monumental pots, rebuilding and adapting them to achieve different effects.

Firings have grown longer, continuing over a number of days, rising to temperatures in excess of 1300Âşc, allowing the combination of ash, flame and gasses to do their work on the surface. Some pots are returned to the kiln time and again for multiple firings. It is a precarious method; there are many successes and many inevitable failures. Only through the culmination of many years of knowledge, acquired by trial and error, may accomplished pots such as the examples in this exhibition be produced.

Over the past three years, Nic and his partner Sabine, also a potter, have built, entirely by hand, a beautiful new workshop on the site. Appropriately, it is made from ‘cob’, essentially clay walls rendered with lime. On the first floor is a room in which Nic is able to store and contemplate his finest pots. Recently I was privileged to spend some time there, looking at the pieces

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to be included in this exhibition. It is an amazing selection of the very best pots, taken from the firings of the last two years. I was quite overwhelmed at the astonishing variety of tones, textures forms and scale that stood before me.

This is a magnificent collection of work of the highest quality, created by the heart and hands of a phenomenally skilled and intensely dedicated master.

Doug Fitch potter and writer

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141

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21, 11, 23

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136

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125, 120, 123

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157

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113

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37, 63

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76

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51

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130

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140

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116

126

133

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135

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Biography

Recent Exhibitions

1958

Born in Leamington Spa

Amalgam Gallery

London

1983-1985 Stratford College

Harlequin Gallery

London

1985-1987 Derby Art School: HND Studio 1987

Besson Gallery

London

Ceramics

Ombersley Gallery

Kidderminster

Workshop experience in Italy and

Cothele Gallery

Cornwall (National

Germany

Trust)

1988-2000 Powdermills Pottery, Postbridge, 2000

Roundhouse Gallery

Tudbury, Derby

Dartmoor, founder and owner

Gnarly Dudes Exhibition Devon (Dartmoor)

Personal workshop in

International Anagama

Moretonhampstead, Devon

Exhibition

Fellow member of the Craftsmen Potters Association Full Member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen Winner of the “Art in Clay” Peers Award 1999, Hatfield Best potter in show award Krefeld 2002 Awarded research grant from South West Arts 2002 Winner of the “Art in Clay” Peers Award 2004, Hatfield Honorable Mention in Vasefinder International 2011

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Munich

48

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49

57

105

58

182, 177, 179, 171

163, 176, 168, 167

Illustrated Pots

All sizes in cm

1. Very Large Jar. Natural ash glaze & blue glass runs

80.0 x 57.0

3. Large Jar. Green/grey ash glaze & purple/blue reduction colours

64.0 x 48.5

4. Large Jar. Meeth red clay, shino type glaze, natural green/grey ash glaze

55.0 x 41.0

5. Jar. Yellow/green ash glaze over Shino, shell scars, blue ember reduction

46.5 x 33.5

6. Vase. Meeth clay with applied texture, natural ash glaze

49.0 x 44.5

7. Jar. Meeth clay with shino and natural ash glazes. Jade green ash & iron reds

55.5 x 43.0

8. Jar. Fire flash colours & natural ash glaze

46.5 x 39.5

9. Jar. Celadon glaze & natural wood ash

39.5 x 33.0

10. Tall Bottle. Shino with molten ash glaze and shell detail

85.5 x 20.5

11. Majestic Tall Bottle. Green/grey natural ash runs over blue/grey reduction colours

79.5 x 79.5

13. Tall Bottle. Shino with natural ash glaze

101.0 x 19.0

15. Bellarmine Bottle. Natural ash glaze & blue/grey ember reduction colours

54.0 x 37.0

17. Bellarmine Bottle. Shino with natural ash glaze, carbon trapping & shell scars

55.0 x 35.5

19. Bottle. Celadon & natural ash glazes with shell scar and kissing mark

50.0 x 18.5

21. Very Tall Jug. Natural ash glaze & ember reduction colours

71.5 x 18.5

22. Tall Jug. Natural green ash glaze with shell & wadding scar

58.0 x 17.5

23. Tall Jug. Blue/grey/green natural ash glaze

59.0 x 17.5

25. Tall Jug. White Shino with light green natural ash glaze & orange clay body colour

58.5 x 17.5

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119, 134, 100

27. Tall Jug. Natural ash glaze & ember reduction colours

60.0 x 18.5

32. Lidded Jar with Lugs. Natural ash glazed & raw clay colour with iron spots

35.0 x 25.0

33. North Devon Type Jug. Natural ash glaze & flame flashing colours. Celadon inside

40.0 x 25.0

37. North Devon Type Jug. Natural ash glaze & blue/grey ember reduction

40.0 x 24.0

43. Jug. Light ash glaze & natural clay body. Shino glazed interior & rim

34.5 x 21.5

47. Large Thrown Porcelain Dish. Bright orange flame flashing & shell scars

11.0 x 55.0

48. Large Thrown Dish. Shino & fine natural ash glazes with Feldspar & iron spots

14.5 x 59.0

49. Large Thrown Dish. Fresh Celadon glaze with hazel leaf impression

11.5 x 55.0

51. Bottle. Ash runs over Shino glaze

34.5 x 23.5

63. Small Devon Jug. Natural ash glaze

25.0 x 17.0

67. Round Bottomed Dish. Textured pattern, grey/green ash glaze & blue/grey reduction15.0 x 31.0 68. Round Bottomed Dish. Textured pattern & cool green/grey Celadon glaze

10.0 x 26.0

70. Round Bottomed Dish. Thrown and slab built. Textured pattern & Shino type glaze

10.0 x 25.0

72. Porcelain Flower Vase/Fruit Bowl. Slab built. Natural ash glaze

8.0 x 27.0

73. Small Jug. Natural ash glaze & flame flash colouring

14.0 x 11.5

74. Small Jug. Natural ash glaze & flame flash colouring

14.0 x 11.5

76. Bottle. Shino & heavy natural ash glaze. Grey/green ash & lilac/mauve reduction

32.0 x 16.5

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63, 102, 166, 73, 74

78. Bottle. Natural ash glaze & flame colouring

24.0 x 18.5

100. Bottle. Shino glaze with ash runs & clay wadding scar

100.0 x 12.5

102. Teapot. Natural fly ash glaze & flame flashing colours

14.5 x 14.0

104. Bottle. Purple/mauve reduction colours & light green ash glaze

16.0 x 11.5

105. Bottle. Fresh green Celadon & natural fly ash glazes 109. Flower Vase. Natural ash glaze & wadding marks

14.0 x 9.0 20.0 x 11.5

113. Bottle. Ash runs and shell scars

20.5 x 10.5

116. Bottle. Ash runs & blue/purple reduction colours

23.5 x 11.0

119. Bottle. Shino & natural ash glazes. Blue/grey reduction colours

16.0 x 11.0

120. Bottle. Shino & natural ash glazes with wadding marks

22.0 x 8.0

123. Bottle. Shino glaze with ash runs & wadding marks

17.0 x 11.0

124. Bottle. Shino glaze with ash runs & wadding marks

17.0 x 11.0

125. Bottle. Orange Shino & ash glazes

22.0 x 11.5

126. Bottle. Ash runs & blue/grey reduction colours

21.0 x 12.0

130. Bottle. Red Shino with ash runs

17.0 x 8.5

133. Bottle. Shino glaze with ash runs

21.5 x 11.5

134. Bottle. Shino with flame flashing & cool grey reduction colours

20.0 x 11.0

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159, 153, 162

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135. Bottle. Grey/blue & purple/mauve reduction colours

19.0 x 12.5

136. Small Lidded Jar. Celadon glaze

11.0 x 11.5

140. Bottle. Natural ash glaze runs & iron spots from the clay

25.5 x 11.5

141. Teabowl. Natural ash glaze runs, blue/grey reduction colours

8.5 x 13.5

153. Teabowl. Porcelain

7.5 x 13.0

157. Guinomi. Porcelain

5.5 x 7.5

159. Guinomi. Porcelain. Pinched

5.5 x 8.5

162. Guinomi. Porcelain. Pinched

5.5 x 8.5

163. Guinomi. Celadon glazed inside

6.0 x 8.0

166. Guinomi. Shino glazed inside with ashing

6.5 x 8.0

167. Guinomi. Ash runs, pooling inside

6.5 x 7.5

168. Guinomi. Flame flash, ash runs, heavy ashing inside

5.5 x 7.5

171. Guinomi. Ash runs, shino glazed inside

6.5 x 8.5

176. Guinomi. Ash runs

6.0 x 9.0

177. Guinomi. Ash runs, heavy ashing inside

6.0 x 9.5

179. Guinomi. Ashing

6.5 x 10.0

182. Guinomi. Ashing

6.5 x 10.0

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www.modernpots.com Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9SQ 01572 821424

Text © Doug Fitch 2011 Photographs © Jay Goldmark Design Porter / Goldmark

ISBN

978-1-870507-82-0 2011

GOLDMARK CERAMICS MONOGRAPHS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Phil Rogers New Pots 2005 Clive Bowen New Pots 2006 Lisa Hammond New Pots 2006 Mike Dodd Recent Pots 2007 Ken Matsuzaki (2007) Thirty Years of a Living Tradition Svend Bayer (2007) New Pots Jim Malone (2008) The Pursuit of Beauty

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Phil Rogers (2008) A Potter of our Time Lisa Hammond (2009) Unconscious Revelation Ken Matsuzaki New Pots 2009 Mike Dodd New Pots 2009 Clive Bowen New Pots 2009 Svend Bayer New Pots 2010 Nic Collinsr New Pots 2011

GOLDMARK CERAMICS FILMS 1 3

Phil Rogers A Passion For Pots Svend Bayer

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Ken Matsuzaki Elemental Nic Collins

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