The timeless beauty of ceramics
One-off treasures by co-op artists at London’s, Clay Habitat, Ceramics Gallery & Retail Shop
The Clay Habitat, Ceramics Gallery & Retail Shop, Unit 1, 114 – 118 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7AE, UK.
I moved to the UK from Australia many years ago and was immediately struck by the historical interest in ceramics here. I’ve alway loved the earthiness of ceramics and the fact that artists have created both functionality and beauty from the clay beneath their feet. Ceramics have a sturdiness and reliability and a link with history going back thousands of years.
Australia, however, doesn’t have a long history of producing ceramics. Prior to British settlement in Australia in 1788, the Aboriginal people were semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers who had no real use for pottery. After settlement, convict potters such as Jonathan Leak produced some of Australia’s earliest pieces. Post World War Two saw a boom of independent pottery studios established mainly in NSW. Today, although there are some independent studios still making ceramics, the community is a small one.
Pieces by Australian ceramicists Kim Wallace Ceramics, Katia Carletti and Tara Shackell.
On the other hand, the history of ceramics in the UK can be traced back to the Neolithic age and then on through to the the tin-glazed earthenware Delftware of the 17th centuries, introduced by the Dutch and Germans.
English Delftware display dish, possibly made in London, 1638, and English Delftware dish showing two chargers with William III on horseback, 17th – 18th century.
In the 18th century the Georgian fashion of taking tea led to an increase in demand for porcelain from China. This period also saw the rise of the Staffordshire Potteries, hundreds of English companies producing their own bone china and experimenting with different glazing and decorating techniques. This group later included Wedgwood, Spode and Moorcroft.
Top: Wedgwood teapot “caneware”, c1780 – 1795, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri.
Bottom (left to right): Spode sugar box, Old Oval shape, Rockpattern, pearlware, printed, underglaze, gilded, c1975 and Moorcroft pomander with pierced lid in the Pomegranate pattern, c1908.
The 20th century saw the rise of artist potters such as Clarice Cliff, whose incredible bright orange Art Deco designs blew me away and resulted in my first excited foray into antique buying.
Clarice Cliff’s Crocus Stamford Tea for Two c1931.
Today ceramics are everywhere, readily available and mass produced. I've bought some gorgeous pieces from the likes of Denby, Anthropologie and even TK Maxx, from left to right as below.
But it's the hand crafted and limited edition pieces that I treasure the most, especially when I have the opportunity of speaking first-hand with the artist.
The day I dropped into the Clay Habitat, Ceramics Gallery & Retail Shop on Lower Marsh Street in London, potter Katrin Maier was onsite. She's one of a group of potters who run the store as a co-op, displaying and selling their ceramics in store and holding events and talks. Katrin makes wheel thrown tableware and one-off pieces that are both functional and aesthetic. In her own words:
I am influenced by a childhood of making and mending with my mother and grandmother, an early and deep connection with nature and a fascination with everyday rituals and social interactions, which stems from my travels and my first career as social anthropologist. I found clay as a material, as a way of working and as a life philosophy that can weave these three defining aspects of my life together.
I also love the urban feel and simplicity of another of the co-op’s artists, Justin Page Pottery.
Justin Page Pottery, stoneware jug/ pourer, £45.
A quick Google search of ceramics fairs in the UK returns a whole host of annual events and attests to the popularity of ceramics to a large audience. These fairs are perfect opportunities to find good pieces by well-respected artists, although in 2020 you’ll be browsing from behind your laptop!
Despite my love of ceramics I haven't once sat at the potter’s wheel. I think I’d be disappointed that my efforts won’t produce the creations of my imagination. But I’m more than happy to leave the creating up to the experts and am content instead to continue to collect other people’s treasures.
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