There are times when I feel that I am standing still, getting nothing done and not moving forward,

although there is always lots to be done in the gallery, at the moment I am rarly getting home before 10.00pm each night, which must be wrong, but the days seem to slip through my fingers

with nothing being achieved except answering correspondence

and talking to people who have an interest in the different art that we exhibit.

Of course things are achieved but they "creep up on you" and never seem exciting at the time.

Then, I have a couple of days like last week, when the two days felt like two weeks.

So much seemed to be accomplished in such a short space of time and the memories built up to make that short time seem so very long, plus they are good memories, exciting and fun.

Well, some of them.

So, a week ago I left the gallery in the late evening heading north for Yorkshire.

It was time to start collecting ceramics for our next exhibition.

LEGACY

The exhibition of potters influenced by

Isaac Button - Country Potter

I have a sneaky feeling that this exhibition will creep up on me slowly and the suddenly overtake me, with everything running very late.

For once I am determined that this will not happen, although it is still very likely considering that I am dealing with potters.

Potters. They are never on time because nothing is ever good enough and they think that there is always time to make just one more pot or to have perhaps one more firing of the kiln.

I suppose this is why I like them, it seems that with many of them it is a case of

"it's too not bad, but I bet the next one will be perfect",

which of course never happens.

My first stop was at a 'Travelodge' on the M1 motorway, not a very inspiring location but one just a few miles from where I was heading the following morning,

to see the famous potter John Hudson.

Of course John would never conceive the notion that he is famous, but famous he is.

He supplies museums, archaeology groups, historical re-enactors and historians throughout the UK.

His understanding of ceramics, especially historical pieces is second to none.

I can't think of a single museum in the country that doesn't refer to him or stock his ceramics.

Not only does he make copies of old ceramics [from all periods] but he actually re-creates the kilns that they would have been fired in.

A very intelligent, very talented but very modest potter.

I had met him several times before and he had told me

"I don't supply galleries".

But of course sometimes something comes along that even he can't resist, and luckily for me this was to be one of those occasions.

John is a ceramic historian, as such he understood the importance of 'Isaac Button' and the impact he has made on the potters of today.

So, mid morning I arrived at John's pottery.

A pottery unlike any I have ever visited. I have long become accustomed to referring to potters "sheds" as "studios" but with the best will in the world I could never call John's pottery a studio,

nor would he want me to.

It is just an old fashioned potters workshop, perhaps one we will never see the like of again.

For instance he showed me his "stock of clay", and pointed towards a heap of weeds and grass.

I know that some potters occasionally fill a carrier bag with raw clay the boast they are working from the earth, but this was totally different, there was just a mound of dirt and weeds.

But I was to learn that this clay was dug from the very same hillside that was used by Isaac Button.

Soil Hill.

In fact John's pottery is about as close as you can come to owning a "Button" pot.

Although the pottery is very primitive in looks, it is very well conceived in the layout for production,

it is as close as you will ever come to visiting a pottery from another time.

John himself was an absolute gentleman, despite the fact that he had little time to spare as he is trying

to produce an exhibitions worth of pots before visiting hospital for a major operation.

He devoted the best part of a day with me. Teaching, and helping in my understanding of country pottery and the life of Isaac Button.

I told him that I intended to visit the famous old pottery after leaving him.

"It's a great site, I still visit to dig my clay there", he told me.

"In fact I even have a "Button" brick.

"Button" brick? 

I came to learn that the Button family had actually made their own bricks which were used for the creation of the pottery buildings.

Wow! I couldn't wait to go there, who knows I might find a Button brick, that became my new ambition.

Just imagine, having a brick made by the "man" that was created to build his pottery.

Of course before I set off I had to make a selection of pottery made by John that would be included in the exhibition.

What a task, sometimes it is easier just to be given some boxes with the words

"off you go that's it".

But John made it harder by letting me "rummage" amongst his collection.

Everything I selected he let me take, with one exception, that is the jug above.

"No, you can't have that, its got a fault.

Well you can have it, but you can't sell it as it isn't good enough. It can be used to pour drinks at the opening of the exhibition."

So, now it is mine and I will pour cider from it at the opening, after that it is coming home with me.

John told me.

"People say that us Yorkshire folk don't give anything away, perhaps you can now tell them different.

So I have.

Late in the afternoon I left John and his wonderful pottery and drove north, filled with excitement,

heading off to the land of 'Isaac Button'.

I had many expectations but no idea what to expect, but I knew this would be a real experience.

One I now regret and one I hadn't never expected.

It doesn't really matter if you like the old fashioned pots that Isaac made,

It is a fact that he has become something of a legend, he was just a simple country potter.

One of many, but one of the last.

It is the film of his last firing that has made him something of a cult figure, deservedly so.

He represents the changing of an era, a time lost forever in English culture,

a time when pots were made for daily use for ordinary folk.

Pots to be used, cooked in, poured from, drunk from, and often broken,but that didn't matter,

the potters job was to make them, again and again, because they were needed.

How often can we say that now?

So, driving up a hill along pot-holed lane, full of excitement,

I wasn't prepared for the sight of the location that I eventually arrived at.

The actual lane [Coal Lane] or track stopped about a hundred metres from the old pottery.

Although I was tempted to get out and walk from my hired van the pouring rain made me drive to the very limit of the track, from there it was just mud which lead up to an ominous looking house on the hillside. A house surrounded by cars.

I believe that once it was Isaac's cottage although I doubt he would recognise it now.

It gave off an aura, that aura spelt "trouble".

Still as I have been told I have a very active imagination, plus nothing was going to stop me looking at the pottery.

Apart from the fact it didn't exist anymore.

Very little of the original pottery remained, in fact the only portion untouched was the old kiln room

and the kiln.

What a sorry sight.

Surrounded by old car engines, scrap and rubbish, stood the remnants of this famous structure.

A piece of history reduced to rubble.

Why?

Why, so someone can build houses on the site.

Although I had intended to I won't tell much of my visit.

It wasn't pleasant, I was intimated, but I was offered a "Button" brick for a £100 pounds.

Guess what? I declined.

I was also questioned.

"These pictures you are taking, they aren't going to appear on the Internet are they"?

For the sake of my own well being I lied "of course not".

So here they are.

I have many others and I just wonder why they must not be seen.

This is an important piece of English history that is being demolished so what is wrong with showing people?

One thing for sure is that I don't have the courage or desire to return.

What is such a shame is there are so many shards of pottery protruding from the mud,

one such piece was a portion of a "bread crock" complete with the handle.

I would have loved to have taken it to present to the potter John Leach as he had told me that it was from watching the old film of Isaac that taught him how to make his handles.

I regret I didn't have the courage to pick it from the mud, 

that is a shame as even today John told me that whenever he makes those handles he thinks of

Isaac Button.

A piece of history buried in the mud, or maybe that is where it should remain.

Encased in the earth it was formed from.

With the evening becoming later, darker and much wetter I drove back down the track to the main road and headed north to the Dales, which is where my real "Button"adventures started.

To be continued.........................

Writing this all I can hear is the sound of "ticking".

I have a sneaky feeling this is because I am surrounded by about a dozen of the incredible clocks by the sculptor 'Ross Emerson'.

This weekend we are holding our first solo exhibition of his work, it had been planned for September

but unfortunately the sculptor whose work we had planned to show is very ill, in fact he is in hospital.

The good news is that he is recovering and we now hope to exhibit his work maybe at the end of this or early next year. However, this did leave us with an empty space on our calendar and I really was at a loss to think how we could fill it.

I really couldn't think of anyone who could create enough work in a short time, until my thoughts

turned to Ross.

His work is very time consuming and as a result he is constantly working without a break just to keep ahead of the demand from the various galleries that are always asking for his unusual ceramics.

I wondered if there might be a chance that I could "jump the queue" and get him to bring his exhibition forward so that it would give me time to reorganise the rest of the year.

It was a tall order to ask but as they say "don't ask don't get".

So I did ask.

Ross being the kind and generous artist that he is, understood my problem but explained that it would create many for himself, but he said that he would give it thought and come back to me.

Two days later he did, "Yes" it was on.

He explained that he would "just have to start work earlier and finish later".

It is easy to understand why I like him so much, he is just one of those very rare artists who just can't bring himself to let people down, even when it is no fault of his own.

So it was that last weekend I found myself travelling south again to visit his studio in Devon.

Although I am a frequent visitor to the home and studio of Ross I still find the the view of his workplace amazing, nestled in its own small valley and surrounded by trees.

In fact one side is built on stilts because of the valley slope and outside there is a balcony which has a view of the woodland. How he manages to get anything created with the many natural distractions I just don't know, but work he does.

I also find it hard to come to terms with the fact that he makes such very contemporary work in such a rural setting. I am sure that any first time visitor to this pottery would expect to find simple utilitarian ceramics, the sort of objects that Ross himself  uses daily in the family cottage.

But no, this is a very modern workshop.

On each visit I am surprised by the quantity and quality of work that I find, all in various stages of construction, and it is the manner of the construction that I really find truly fascinating.

There is a great deal going on in the mind of Ross Emerson, and all of it very inventive.

I once spoke with the potter Peter Starkey, [a famous potter well published and collected] about Ross as at one time in the past he ran a studio where Ross trained.

"Whatever anyone thinks about Ross's work they will never find a better craftsmen, his techniques and

ability are truly amazing, his understanding of clay and glazes are first class". He told me.

What he said is true, I have often asked Ross how he creates some of his pieces and although he explains in detail I am often lost, as they are just so clever in their construction.

He truly understands the material with which he works.

I do really enjoy "nosing" around his studio, discovering things.

Some are discarded pieces [that I would love to own] of ceramics, others are old pieces of paper with idea's and designs sketched upon them.

Sometimes, with the absence of available paper he will sketch on the table or the walls, just so that he can capture the idea that is in his mind before it has gone.

So it was that I found and photographed the drawing above.

"This looks interesting, what's it about"? I asked him

"Oh I wish you hadn't seen that, it is an idea I have had for years and at last I have actually made it for my exhibition with Imagine. It was meant to be a surprise when you unpacked it".

The next morning back at the gallery I did unpack it.

Even though I now had a hint of what I might find I was still mesmerised when I took the sculpture from the box, it is fantastic.

Although you can not see it from the angle of my photograph the face of the

"Westminster Organ Player" [grinder] is a perfect charecture of our beloved Prime Minister.

It is so well made with great attention to detail, plus it tells the time.

Ross has told me that it took him two weeks to make, "I will never do it again".

It is a piece of sculpture that I would love to own.

I am not sure what to name it in the price list catalogue.

I have been thinking maybe

"Same Old Song"

or perhaps

"Different Tune, Same Old Words."

Suggestions very welcome.

 I truly have to say that these pictures of different pots I am showing are "in no particular order",

 the simple reason being that this wasn't the order I was trying to display them.

It really must be an age thing, that or the buggers [at blogger] are "mending" what isn't broken yet again.

I hope so because at least it is keeping someone in a job.

This is a selection of ceramics by various potters that are to be involved in our 'LEGACY' exhibition.

What pieces we will actually have on show I don't know as yet but these are from the selection of various images that have been sent to me for inclusion in our promotion, plus with luck [and enough time] we will also be producing our own publication for the opening, in which case these are a small 

sample of what will be included.

Some of the 'actual' exhibition pieces will start arriving next week.

This will be very early as the exhibition doesn't open until at least eight weeks time but I will be glad

to have pieces here as I have a very strong feeling that this particular exhibition is going to become very stressful as the opening date draws closer.

We have so many plans for what we intend to do that there is plenty of scope for much to go wrong, so actually have exhibition pieces here will remove a lot of the major stress,

also it will give me the opportunity to photograph and show you the actual pieces that arrive. 

So, above are pots by John Leach, Tony Clennell and Ruthanne Tudball.

I am positive that we will have the bottle by John, or at least a similar version.

This I am really happy about because it was a picture of one of these bottles that made me want to start a pottery many, many years ago. What is nice is that he still produces pieces the same [but better]

as he has been producing throughout his career. There is something very comforting about this,

 it feels that perhaps time isn't moving too fast.

The jug by Tony? Well I know that we won't have that one and in fact I think we are racing against the clock with him as he is building a new kiln, it is from this kiln that we are hoping to have a few pots.

So, fingers crossed.

Ruthanne! What can I say?

One of the most consistent and reliable potters that I know [plus a very nice person], so I am sure that that jug will be on display, if not its twin.

I think one of the things that I am most excited  about is the diversity of the ceramics that we will be showing.

The only common link being, they are all potters who acknowledge the importance of Isaac Button,

or they are country potters working much like he did.

Although the styles are very different and are being produced by potters on different continents all of the pots on display will be made by "country potters", their work and studios may vary

but at heart they are country potters sharing a common bond. 

For instance the jug above by Mark Tichiner is so very different from the bottle below by Jeremy Steward, but to me they both look and have the spirit of country pottery.

I find them all exciting in their very different ways, I can imagine the delight that it would bring to

pour a cup of tea from Ruthanne's teapot in the same way that it would give pleasure to see the jug by Harry Juniper full of flowers, 

Even though it is a 'Harvest Jug'.

Of course as such it should be be filled with ale of some description. In fact Harry's jugs are about the only example's that nowadays could actually be used for their original purpose, as most contemporary examples are now so expensive that you are frightened to touch one, let alone dare to use it.

Simple pottery has now been elevated to "art," well at least in the minds of some of the makers.

    

In a small way this is what the exhibition is intended to reverse, just for a little while.

For instance the potter Mark Griffiths [whose pots aren't shown] told me recently that he and some fellow potters had been talking about "the good old days," back when people would return to the pottery on frequent occasions just to replace pieces that had become broken, simple things like bowls and mugs. "this doesn't happen anymore" because our prices have risen too much".

He explained.

Of course a some of the reasons for this are because the cost of materials have become so high.

So for this exhibition Mark has told me that he is going to make some mugs that sell 

"for a fiver, just like we used to do". 

At least with doing this some people will have the pleasure of using a hand made piece,

if it gets broken [like pottery tends to] there will be no tears about the financial loss, just the sadness for losing something that gave a lot of pleasure.

I have become surprised to learn that there are more than a few of the potters who are going to use the occasion to create something that is "a little bit different" from their normal work.

This is lovely as it means that not only will we have special pieces, but also because it means that the exhibition has a different significance for the potter, in a way they are paying homage to a great maker.

Of course there will be the potters whose work doesn't change it just improves.

Potters like Clive Bowan, someone who has set the standard for English country pottery for many years. Having a potter like him involved gives me a great personal pleasure, for so many years I have wanted to own a piece of his work, and to think that now I will be exhibiting some of it!

Both he and his wife 'Rosie' have been a great support while the show was being planned.

Another potter who was "on board" in the early stages was Richard Dewar.

An English country potter?

He lives in France but the spirit is English.

He has taken simple pottery to a different level, yes you can use his teapots and jugs but he has elevated them to have more significance.

It doesn't mean he charges more than any "domestic ware" potter, he has just made them that little bit more special.

In fact this morning [as everyday] I had my "wake up" coffee from one of his 'tea bowl cups'.

A tea bowl with a handle, and priced as a cup not a tea bowl.

"Heaven forbid", I can't imagine what the pseudo English/Japanese potters think of such a man.

I think the best thing he could do is say they were influenced by the Korean potters

Who were just making beautiful things for everyday use.

One of the potters that I am especially excited about is the potter Kenyon Hansen.

He may be American but he is very familiar with the work and film of Isaac Button the rural potter.

For me his ceramic are very much about country pottery, even if it wasn't intended as such.

It is country pottery from, well, actually from another country.

Simple, yet very elegant. Well conceived, beautifully crafted and meant for everyday use.

I really can't wait to hold a piece.

Still like many, many pieces these pots have yet to arrive, or perhaps are yet to be made.

But, little by little I know the exhibition will slowly come together, until the last few weeks, then I know that here in the gallery it will become a frenzy of activity and worry, 

plus also a lot of excitement.

Also there are another one or two potters that I would like to add to the list [[23 to date] of people whose work I really feel we should show.

I am sure that I will get around to mentioning everyone and everything at some point in the near future,

but for now my thoughts had better return to the present as I have something of equal importance to exhibit, and that I will definitely be showing to you very soon.

I think that it is about time that I made a mention of our summer exhibition.

In fact it will be the largest exhibition that we have held, and although the opening is still some time away it has taken up two full days of my time each week for the past couple of months.

What is worrying is that this is just with the early stages, so things can only get more hectic and worrying as time goes on.

Worrying, but enjoyable, as the planning is half the fun.

But from now things will start to become more serious, as I understand that getting artists [potters] to say "yes" is one thing but bringing them in on time is going to be a different matter.

On the last day of June we are holding the opening of an exhibition titled

'LEGACY'.

This is to be a tribute exhibition to Isaac Button the potter and John Anderson the man who made the famous film about him.

There are many reasons why and how this exhibition came about, so I will try to be brief with my explanation. This is fortunate for you and this is only because I hate typing my thoughts.

If you called into the gallery I am sure I could bore you with an hour long verbal version,

But brief or long, the main reason will be the same.

Like many potters and people who have any interest in ceramics I have watched an old film titled:

'Isaac Button - Country Potter'.

It is a film made back in the early 60's and it records some of the last working days and kiln firing

of an English Country potter.

The subject of the film, Isaac Button was a normal working potter, producing simple, low priced pots for everyday use. He certainly wasn't famous, just one of the last of his kind.

It is only after the film was made, and his pottery closed that he became famous and is now perhaps regarded as "the" Country Potter, all because of an old 'black & white', silent film which records his working life. A life that now seems so long ago.

He was an extraordinary craftsman, producing quantities and sizes of pots that seem almost unimaginable by today's standards.

But that was his life,  he was just a potter.

A potter capable of throwing hundreds of pots in a day, simple pots, pots for use, affordable pots.

Pots that could be broken without fear of having to claim on the insurance because of the financial loss,

pots of a size that would now be considered major exhibition pieces.

For instance: he could throw a 'bread crock' using 24 lbs of clay in just 70 seconds,

then without standing back to admire his work he would throw another, then another.

It was a skill born from a lifetimes work, not a natural ability but learnt from repetition.

A working man earning his living as he had been taught.

He has become something of a legend, and all because of the film.

A film that has been watched [and still is] by potters worldwide, a film made by a photographer

John Anderson.

This is where my involvement comes in.

John was one of our customers.

He used to pass the gallery window twice a day, on his way to collect groceries from the village shop.

Sometimes, he would stop and look at pots in the window, other times he would come inside and ask or talk about them, and on occasions he would make a purchase.

To me he was an interesting character who had an understanding about good pots, and he really did understand them. I remember on one occasion he was scathing about the quality of a large bowl.

A pot created by a "famous" potter, a potter who has work in international museums.

"it is dead, this isn't a good pot", were his words.

He was right, the famous name and high price didn't make it a good pot.

It was after one such visit when he had purchased a really large pot by an unknown potter

[unknown meaning he wasn't a potter that you get to hear about] that he asked could I deliver it?

He only lived a few minutes walk away so it wasn't a problem.

Delivering the pot to his home, for the first time I met his partner "Kay" and viewed his incredible collection [a lifetimes collection] of ceramics. Plus it was then I learnt that he was "the" film maker.

He had made many well known films of potters but it was the Isaac Button film that he is most remembered for.

Remembered?

Unfortunately since I came to know him he has died.

He is missed but we constantly remember him because his widow Kay is still a regular visitor.

In fact she is still adding to their collection with purchases from our gallery.

A collection that will one day be passed to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

It was on the occasion of one of her visits just before Christmas that the idea of the exhibition was born.

There was an exhibition taking place and as usual I was panicking, talking and drinking

[in no particular order].

In a corner Irene and Kay were busy chatting and laughing. Eventually I was called over and Irene said "wouldn't it be lovely to show Kay and John's collection of pots"?

From that statement a very large exhibition has grown, in fact it will be our most important exhibition to date, an exhibition which will give some meaning and purpose to what we do.

We will be showing "some" of their collection.

The pots that were created by Isaac Button, plus others that will be borrowed from around the country.

We will be showing the famous film constantly, exhibiting old photographs of the potter,

And more importantly we will be showing the ceramics by twenty of the best contemporary potters around, potters who acknowledge the importance and influence of the old film,

or potters who are still working as "Country Potters".

Potters who make a living from their craft.

I made a "wish list" of the potters that I would love to include, and to my amazement the response has been fantastic, potters really wanted to be included and involved.

We will have potters from the UK, Europe and from across the pond.

Some of them very famous, all of them real artists.

Very different potters but all of them producing connected by a common thread.

Isaac Button - Country Potter.

To some up the response I will quote the words that John Leach said when I asked would he consider being involved with the exhibition.

"I would be honoured. Without that man and that film I wouldn't make the pots I make today".

So above are a couple of pictures of Isaac, then two of today's potters,

Clive Bowan and Stephen Parry.

Making different kinds of pots but I think that it is easy to see that nothing has really changed.

These pictures followed by ceramics by Tony Clenell, Ron Gearing and Stephen.

This will be an exciting exhibition, if I survive the planning.

I will be returning to this theme many, many times before the event as there will be a lot to show and tell and I have the feeling that excitement will get the better of me.

It is unlike me to make another 'blog' entry so soon, even when I often promise to do so.

This one is because I felt that I needed to, sooner rather than later.

A"blogger" [I follow] recently wrote that he felt that due to the lack of comments that he received, he often felt that he was just writing for himself. I know exactly how he feels.

Another, I remember saying he wouldn't write about his life as his 'blog' was just intended to record his working life as a Potter.

A more recent post by another potter/ weaver/ sculptor/ craftperson, stated

"Bloggers are the Best".

Maybe they are, but perhaps not all of the readers.

So what has the above got to do with what I am writing?

Well, what I have recently found that you never know who is checking or reading your 'blog'.

The chances are that they are certainly not 'bloggers' as I have just found out.

In my last entry I mentioned that I had some reasons to be sad and this was the reason I had forgotten to mention our latest exhibition.

Yes, my thoughts were elsewhere because I did have a reason to be a little sad.

Irene my wife and best friend had learned that she had cancer, of course like everyone the very

mention of "that" word has scared the crap out of us.

As a family we are still a little numb with shock, but are coming to terms with it and now feeling

positive, we know it will just be time before she is back to normal.

So writing the last post my thoughts were "anywhere and everywhere" and I would have liked to talk about how it had affected me, writing would have helped.

The realisation of how much this woman means to me.

The understanding of what she has given up just so that I can live the life of my choosing,

and the support that she gives me I had never really considered,

until now.

But I had decided like the "potter" to keep my real life private, as we all need somewhere to retreat,

Somewhere that is private and special.

But like the first "blogger" I didn't understand who reads what you write.

The result?

Several "artists" assumed that the "sad" news meant that the gallery was in trouble.

[After all I write of nothing but the gallery].

And of course, being the sensitive people that we all understand they are

Some have been demanding their "art" back before we closed!

To say that this shocked and saddened me would be something of an understatement.

But reflecting upon events perhaps it is good,

as they say "every cloud....................................."

Now at least we know exactly who are genuine artist friends are.

As a result we can move on to a nicer future with good people.

Anyway.

We did have our opening of the new exhibition, and it was a good day,

in every respect.

It had a really large turnout of "Karen" fans and supporters, which was no surprise.

Karen, Colin her husband and their baby were here

Sales were really good

But most importantly the atmosphere was a lot of fun and we felt surrounded by friends.

Which, is of course what most of the regular customers have become.

Those that I had told of our news were "rocks" and so very genuine in their concern and support.

The good day ended with us all going home feeling happy and looking forward to the future.

So above are just a couple of Karen's incredible ceramic wildlife sculptures.

She really is clever.

I intend to get pictures of others before they have all sold, but knowing myself only too well

I will probably get "side tracked" and talk of something else.

For instance.

The three pictures at the top are the work of my latest discovery.

An incredibly talented woman, who we are exhibiting later in the year.

We "showcased" this piece at the weekend [as a tease] and the response was fantastic.

But before I talk more about her [and I really will]

I think my next post is more likely to be about an exhibition that we are holding at the end of June.

It could possibly be our biggest to date.

On a final note.

Think before you write, you may have more readers than you know of.

Not all of them genuine.

I almost forgot to tell you that we have an exhibition opening on Sunday.

There are reasons for the lapse of memory, but at the moment they are too sad for me to talk about.

But with luck some of those feelings will be alleviated for a while this weekend,

as we are holding of a solo exhibition of sculpture by one of my nicest friends,

Karen Fawcett.

Karen has built a really large following of fans here in the gallery,

so it is with excited anticipation that we will open the doors on Sunday. I collected the sculptures

from her a week ago and I can promise that they really are "something special".

Over the years we have been exhibiting her art it has been a delight to see her growing,

In reputation, as a sculptor and as an individual.

I have always promised her that "one day" she would be famous.

Of that I have never had doubts, but now that it is happening I feel jealous of the galleries that exhibit her art, I almost think I preferred it when she was "my secret". 

But to even think such a thing shames me.

As she told me a couple of days ago " your work is always put in front".

I suppose that is because we have become friends and collaborators with a common goal.

This will be a good and fun exhibition, with sculptures too good not to be real. 

When and if I have a chance I will show pictures of her stunning ceramics as they deserve to be seen.

Until then here is a peak of the invitation.

Apparently, it was a bad time of the year that I had decided to travel upon

The weather had been pretty bad, rain, snow, rain, ice, more snow and on the evening before I set off

Yet more snow.

Still it could have been worse according to the media,

"Whiteout Britain"

"Planes Grounded"

"Country in Ice Grip"

"Chaos on Motorway"

"Country on Flood Alert"

There is no doubt about it when it comes to "doom & gloom" we really lead the way, everything was predicted except "Plague of Locust," give it time it will come.

But I was committed, car was hired, rooms booked, clean socks, pants and 'wellies' were packed,

So off I set early on a Sunday morning before the world awoke [or at least my household].

I must admit once I have managed to leave a warm bed and a house full of sleeping dogs I find that there is nothing nicer than watching the sun rise on a beautiful day.

Travelling West and then South.

By the time I was driving through Somerset the day really was looking good, the morning mist rising over the lowlands while everything else was bathed in a glorious light.

It was a day that it felt good to be alive on, I felt very fortunate to be making this journey on such a day.

In fact I was happy to be making the journey, I felt that I was "slacking off work",

although I wasn't really because the trip was to collect new art for the gallery plus cement some new

relationships, which was essential for a very important and ambitious exhibition that we have planned for the middle of the year, an exhibition involving around twenty world class potters.

Even so there was still a feeling of guilt being away as there was so much to be done back at the gallery.

I stopped for the night a few miles outside of St. Ives in Cornwall.

I could have carried on and had my first visit, plus a bag of chips by the sea which would have been nice, but I just wanted to sleep.

The family hasn't had a holiday or any time off except for Christmas for over seven years, and I spend

seven days a week in the gallery, so it is trips like this that give me the chance to "switch off"

from the daily routine and as normal it makes me tired.

So I was in bed at a time when I am normally still in the gallery writing letters or doing paperwork.

Sleep, it was lovely.

The potter John Bedding was the man that I had come to visit.

So my first call of the morning was to his amazing gallery, although it should be called a museum.

He shows [for sale] probably the best collection of ceramics in the country, it certainly equals the collection in many museums.

Although I had come to admire the work by many famous potters my real purpose was to discover what beautiful pieces of his own might be tucked away somewhere, before I went off to meet with him.

I made a wish list of my choices then set of through the deserted lanes of St Ives

.

Out of season this famous artist location is a strange place, the tourist shops are closed or empty and

in reality a little of the magic is lost along with the vibrance, in fact it seems very much like anywhere

in the country with the exception of the sound of the sea in the background.

I visited John at his studio which is in the towns old gaol-yard, which forms a complex of studios that John owns and lets to other potters, all of them exceptional craftspeople, it is a magical place.

From inside that "gaol" some fantastic, original ceramics are created, but I will mention more about that in a later post when I will show some of the work by Sarah Dunstan.

I would like to talk of her, her work and my meeting with her now but as usual the time is late.

So, I did meet with John Bedding, who for me is one of the most forward thinking potters of our time. Despite not being in the best of health he "once again" captivated me with his explanations of his working methods and future plans. Some of his ideas really are ground breaking but it is not my place [although tempted] to talk of them, which is pretty good when I consider that he is slightly more ancient than me. This isn't a man who tells second hand stories of Bernard leach, he worked with him,

although he doesn't talk of this or of any of his important associations.

He is a quite talking man with lots of energy and enthusiasm, I like him a lot, and his work.

Of course, it goes without saying that he let me leave St. Ives with my choice of his pots.

So to shorten a too long a story, after a visit to the pottery that once belonged to Bernard Leach I returned to my hotel for another long nights sleep.

Next morning found me driving up to Devon where I met up with old friends and craftsmen.

I would have visited more and I had promised to call in to see Philip Leach but the day was passing too fast and I had one more important visit [for future exhibition] to make before leaving the county.

This was to meet the potter 'Harry Juniper,' a truly amazing man.

He is aged 80 but going on 16.

Visiting his pottery I was staggered by the shear amount of pots he produces, and most of them

Harvest Jugs, and what surprised me is that they are affordable.

None of the "they take so long that's why they are expensive" stuff for this old boy,

He just works and works.

His only complaint was that he "needs time, that's all I want, time".

That would be interspaced by his most frequent comment "isn't life grand?"

"Isn't it a wonderful life," "just more time"

was what he kept repeating. It was a wonderful visit.

He took me into his home. "Nobody gets to come in here," he told me.

Showed me all of the photographs of his work since he started life as a potter, aged 14, recounted stories of his life and career, and even showed me his personal collection of ceramics.

Just one piece by John Maltby.

"The only man I purchased a pot from, after all why should I buy them I make them".

After too many hours and in the dark evening I reluctantly left him, but with the promise o

 "Harvest Jugs to follow in May".

So I drove up through the remainder of Devon, across the Severn Bridge [in horizontal rain]

into Wales then north to arrive late at night outside the ancient town of Ludlow.

After a "not so long" nights sleep I travelled into the town to meet with another potter Andrew Crouch.

This is an episode I will revisit as I don't write fast and it is getting too late to be sitting in the gallery.

I must be the only shop that is still lit and with an occupant.

[if you're passing call in].

Finally, I arrived at my last destination the pottery of Mark Griffiths.

Slight problem here, Mark had gotten the date of my visit wrong and he had left for the coast of Wales.

I was determined that I was not leaving his pottery without a car full of his pots, so I drove into town got some fish and chips then returned to sit outside his door in the hope that someone would arrive home.

At long last. His son arrived home in the evening.

After I explained my predicament and my purpose he invited me in to

"Help yourself".

That's just what I did and I loved every minute of it.

In my mind I could hear Mark saying "not that one, I'm keeping that" but as he wasn't there I did what a man has to do [well if he has a gallery] and took every pot I liked.

Now "that's what I call shopping".

Two days later back in the gallery Mark called for a chat.

Everything was good, and when he told me the prices it got even better.

Believe me, anyone who comes to purchase these pots is going to get a real bargain, fantastic pots by one of UK's best potters at prices we can still afford.

I like Mark, even if he does forget things.

Like my bloody visit.

Above are a mixture of a few pieces that I returned with from John and Mark.