2. The Birth of Ceramic Art In the early 1900s, factories had
taken over almost all aspects of production of useful ceramics. As
a result, in the 1940s & 50s, British potter Bernard Leach
(1887 1979) pushed for the revival of handmade ceramics. This
movement was known as the Studio Potter Movement.
3. Bernard Leach Leach had studied with clay masters in Japan
and was influenced by their aesthetics In 1940, he published A
Potter's Book, which rejected mass production and emphasized the
value of handmade pottery.
4. How would you describe Leach's work?
5. Shoji Hamada Leach set up a pottery studio in St. Ives,
England with the help of Shoji Hamada. Hamada was an accomplished
young potter whom Leach had worked with in Japan. Hamada later
achieved worldwide recognition for his ceramic work.
6. How would you describe Hamada's work?
7. The Leach Pottery Studio St. Ives became a place where
potters were trained to produce simple, straightforward pots that
focused primarily on function. Later Leach and Hamada travelled the
world teaching the fundamental principles of clay design. American
& Canadian pottery in the 1950s was heavily influenced by Leach
and Hamada views.
8. Peter Voulkos Voulkos was a talented potter and teacher in
west coast California. He met Leach and Hamada when they toured the
U.S.A. in 1952. He was inspired to become part of the movement to
emphasize the importance of ceramics.
9. Peter Voulkos In 1953, he met and was influenced by artists
involved in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Abstract
Expressionism is a type of art in which the artist expresses
himself using form and colour. It is non- representational, which
means that there are no actual objects represented.
10. Peter Voulkos Over the next decades, Voulkos pushed the
boundaries of functional clay work. His work shifted away from
traditional forms, and he began to make large sculptural pieces.
The only purpose of these non-functional forms was to highlight the
expressive potential within clay.
11. How would you describe Voulkos' work?
12. Craft VS. Art Until Voulkos, the boundary between craft and
art had been clear. Voulkos' abstract expressionist pots blurred
the boundary between craft and art. A new concept: Ceramic Art came
into being. A clay object could now be valued solely for its
sensory and aesthetic properties.
13. Contemporary Ceramic Sculptors
14. Beth Lo (Montana)
15. Adrian Arleo (Montana)
16. Tom Bartel (Indiana)
17. Pattie Chalmers (from Manitoba, Currently in Illinois)
18. Magda Gluszek (Florida)
19. Beth Caver Stichter (Washington)
20. REFLECTION: UNIT 5 1) How did you come up with your idea
for your Culminating Activity? Why did you make this? 2) What
techniques did you use to build your project? 3) How successful
were you in shaping the clay into the form you wanted? Were you
able to smooth bumps and cracks? 4) Were you successful in glazing
your project? Did you add enough decoration? Did you use enough
colours and textures? 5) What parts of your project need
improvement?
