Veena Raghavan on thu 17 may 01
Hi fellow Clayarters,
I just read Mel's admonition about posts on personal experiences,
so I hope this makes it onto the List!
I have just returned from a marvelous trip to the UK. It has been
awhile since I have been there, during my preClayart days, when I was
realitively new to clay. This was a visit to see old non-clay friends from
years gone by and to try and meet new friends in clay. Although I could not
visit some of my UK Clayart acquaintances, I did manage to meet a few.
I was fortunate to be able to spend two days in London. I had put
out a call before I left, and Jenny Lewis responded (others also told me
about her. Thank you all!). She was kind enough to come into the city on a
Sunday, so we could sit over a cup of coffee in a cozy little patisserie on
Primrose Hill and chat about pots. Jenny has already posted on Clayart
about meeting two Clayarters from the U.S., but let me add that it was
delightful to meet her. She had told me that Emmanuel Cooper's studio was
around the corner. It was an unexpected bonus to meet him and see his work.
We also chatted about Clayart, and he might just drop in to see what we are
all about. I hope he will decide to join in our discussions from time to
time, but I can imagine that he has a very busy schedule between his own
work and editing Ceramic Review.
Although I talked to Steve Mills, I was not able to get to Bath.
This was a disappointment, as I had hoped I would be able to arrange a
visit. Now, if I could have gotten ahold of a car with an automatic drive,
I could have used my new driving skills, stuck to the left side of the road
and driven to Bath (just an hour or so away from where I was staying), but
they only had stick-shifts available, so it was not to be. But I did come
away with a little Hyplas 71, which I have had a yen for ever since Steve
wrote something about this almost magical slip some time back on Clayart.
He was kind enough to let me order some from him, so I could pack it away
in our luggage to bring home.
Our friends in England were kind enough to arrange a trip to North
Wales to fulfill my wish to meet Janet Kaiser and see the Chapel of Art. I
saw the Path, and it is quite fantastic already--a wonderful collection of
tiles from around the world--and there, lo and behold, was my little
contribution, nestled among so many beautiful little squares representing
the art and culture of many areas. They need many more tiles so, those of
you who have not sent yours in, please get in touch with Janet, find out
the specifications, and send in your tiles! What a fantastic project!
Janet and Eckhard have spent over seven years restoring the Chapel,
and it is a gem. I hope many more Clayarters will get to Criccieth in the
years to come, so you can see it for yourselves. They have made it into a
lovely gallery, and there are many beautiful pots and sculptures on
display. But Janet, herself, can tell you more about what takes place in
the Chapel of Art.
She was kind enough to invite several local potters over. I met
Celia Brown, Linda John, and Jacqui Kruzewski. Janet also had a surprise
for me, two friends from a past visit to Wales many years ago, John and Ann
Davies. I spent two weeks with them, and John taught me a great deal about
pottery during that short period. So, we reminisced about my time with
them. It was a lovely surprise and all thanks to Janet's kindness.
Although the Chapel was very busy with many visitors that day,
Janet found the time to chat, and it was delightful talking to her in
person rather than via the Internet--so much to hear and tell, and so
little time in which to share our pasts and present. On top of all this
excitement, Janet and Eckhard shared the hospitality of their home with my
friends, husband, and me. We were treated to a delicious dinner, and had a
cosy and delightful evening together, before we had to return to our bed
and breakfast in a nearby town. We left the next day with many memories on
which to dwell, a feeling of nostalgia, and much regret that the time had
passed so quickly, and my visit was over.
Janet had suggested seeing Phil Rogers on our way back to England,
so we traveled to Rhayader and stopped by his studio. Even though he was
preparing for a workshop out of town, Phil had very kindly said we could
come over, and I am so glad that we did. It was a pleasure to meet and talk
to him, not to mention have a look at his studio and his beautiful pots.
Phil comes to the U.S., so I hope I will have the opportunity to attend a
workshop with him one day. I am constantly amazed at how warm, hospitable,
and sharing, we potters can be. I am so happy to be part of such a
wonderful group of people. It does not seem to matter which country we come
from, our shared obsession with clay is a common bond.
Our next stop was a little historic market town in England called
Ludlow, where we stayed with a friend in her very old and charming little
house for a couple of nights. Phil had suggested that we meet another
potter nearby, a friend of many years, and he too was kind enough to let us
come, even though he was in the middle of a wood firing. Mark Griffiths
specializes in very large terracotta garden pots, and they are very
impressive. Apparently, there are very few potters throwing garden pots on
this scale, and he regrets that this is a dying art in England. I recall a
thread on large garden pots on Clayart recently so, if anyone is
interested, do contact me, and I will give you his address. He is not on
the Internet or on e-mail.
With that visit, my pottery experience came to a close, and we
wended our way back to Crowthorne, near London, soon to fly back to
Virginia.
What a wonderful trip it was, and how nice to meet potters from
England and Wales. I hope that I will have the chance to return before too
long and meet the people I could not see on this visit. I did not get to
any galleries or museums; for me, this was a people visit, and I have
absolutely no regrets, as they were wonderful people.
And now, back to reality--a studio that needs to be set up, and a
wheel that is begging to be used again.
I hope those who have the patience to read this will enjoy sharing my
experience, and I wish you all the start of a wonderful and prosperous
summer. Oh yes, one more thought. Remember, this was the UK, and we did
have some rain, but plenty of sunshine. Janet arranged for good weather in
Wales, and it only deteriorated the night before we left. Now, that's some
power even for a great and accomplished lady!
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
Richard Jeffery on fri 18 may 01
next time, Veena....
I finally got my work delivered the day before the exhibition opened on the
12th.....
Glad you got to meet Janet, it's a wonderful display space she has, and yes,
SHE NEEDS MORE TILES!
Richard
Bournemouth UK
www.TheEleventhHour.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Veena Raghavan
Sent: 18 May 2001 01:13
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: A Potter's Trip to England and Wales
Hi fellow Clayarters,
I just read Mel's admonition about posts on personal experiences,
so I hope this makes it onto the List!
I have just returned from a marvelous trip to the UK. It has been
awhile since I have been there, during my preClayart days, when I was
realitively new to clay. This was a visit to see old non-clay friends from
years gone by and to try and meet new friends in clay. Although I could not
visit some of my UK Clayart acquaintances, I did manage to meet a few.
I was fortunate to be able to spend two days in London. I had put
out a call before I left, and Jenny Lewis responded (others also told me
about her. Thank you all!). She was kind enough to come into the city on a
Sunday, so we could sit over a cup of coffee in a cozy little patisserie on
Primrose Hill and chat about pots. Jenny has already posted on Clayart
about meeting two Clayarters from the U.S., but let me add that it was
delightful to meet her. She had told me that Emmanuel Cooper's studio was
around the corner. It was an unexpected bonus to meet him and see his work.
We also chatted about Clayart, and he might just drop in to see what we are
all about. I hope he will decide to join in our discussions from time to
time, but I can imagine that he has a very busy schedule between his own
work and editing Ceramic Review.
Although I talked to Steve Mills, I was not able to get to Bath.
This was a disappointment, as I had hoped I would be able to arrange a
visit. Now, if I could have gotten ahold of a car with an automatic drive,
I could have used my new driving skills, stuck to the left side of the road
and driven to Bath (just an hour or so away from where I was staying), but
they only had stick-shifts available, so it was not to be. But I did come
away with a little Hyplas 71, which I have had a yen for ever since Steve
wrote something about this almost magical slip some time back on Clayart.
He was kind enough to let me order some from him, so I could pack it away
in our luggage to bring home.
Our friends in England were kind enough to arrange a trip to North
Wales to fulfill my wish to meet Janet Kaiser and see the Chapel of Art. I
saw the Path, and it is quite fantastic already--a wonderful collection of
tiles from around the world--and there, lo and behold, was my little
contribution, nestled among so many beautiful little squares representing
the art and culture of many areas. They need many more tiles so, those of
you who have not sent yours in, please get in touch with Janet, find out
the specifications, and send in your tiles! What a fantastic project!
Janet and Eckhard have spent over seven years restoring the Chapel,
and it is a gem. I hope many more Clayarters will get to Criccieth in the
years to come, so you can see it for yourselves. They have made it into a
lovely gallery, and there are many beautiful pots and sculptures on
display. But Janet, herself, can tell you more about what takes place in
the Chapel of Art.
She was kind enough to invite several local potters over. I met
Celia Brown, Linda John, and Jacqui Kruzewski. Janet also had a surprise
for me, two friends from a past visit to Wales many years ago, John and Ann
Davies. I spent two weeks with them, and John taught me a great deal about
pottery during that short period. So, we reminisced about my time with
them. It was a lovely surprise and all thanks to Janet's kindness.
Although the Chapel was very busy with many visitors that day,
Janet found the time to chat, and it was delightful talking to her in
person rather than via the Internet--so much to hear and tell, and so
little time in which to share our pasts and present. On top of all this
excitement, Janet and Eckhard shared the hospitality of their home with my
friends, husband, and me. We were treated to a delicious dinner, and had a
cosy and delightful evening together, before we had to return to our bed
and breakfast in a nearby town. We left the next day with many memories on
which to dwell, a feeling of nostalgia, and much regret that the time had
passed so quickly, and my visit was over.
Janet had suggested seeing Phil Rogers on our way back to England,
so we traveled to Rhayader and stopped by his studio. Even though he was
preparing for a workshop out of town, Phil had very kindly said we could
come over, and I am so glad that we did. It was a pleasure to meet and talk
to him, not to mention have a look at his studio and his beautiful pots.
Phil comes to the U.S., so I hope I will have the opportunity to attend a
workshop with him one day. I am constantly amazed at how warm, hospitable,
and sharing, we potters can be. I am so happy to be part of such a
wonderful group of people. It does not seem to matter which country we come
from, our shared obsession with clay is a common bond.
Our next stop was a little historic market town in England called
Ludlow, where we stayed with a friend in her very old and charming little
house for a couple of nights. Phil had suggested that we meet another
potter nearby, a friend of many years, and he too was kind enough to let us
come, even though he was in the middle of a wood firing. Mark Griffiths
specializes in very large terracotta garden pots, and they are very
impressive. Apparently, there are very few potters throwing garden pots on
this scale, and he regrets that this is a dying art in England. I recall a
thread on large garden pots on Clayart recently so, if anyone is
interested, do contact me, and I will give you his address. He is not on
the Internet or on e-mail.
With that visit, my pottery experience came to a close, and we
wended our way back to Crowthorne, near London, soon to fly back to
Virginia.
What a wonderful trip it was, and how nice to meet potters from
England and Wales. I hope that I will have the chance to return before too
long and meet the people I could not see on this visit. I did not get to
any galleries or museums; for me, this was a people visit, and I have
absolutely no regrets, as they were wonderful people.
And now, back to reality--a studio that needs to be set up, and a
wheel that is begging to be used again.
I hope those who have the patience to read this will enjoy sharing my
experience, and I wish you all the start of a wonderful and prosperous
summer. Oh yes, one more thought. Remember, this was the UK, and we did
have some rain, but plenty of sunshine. Janet arranged for good weather in
Wales, and it only deteriorated the night before we left. Now, that's some
power even for a great and accomplished lady!
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
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will edwards on fri 18 may 01
Hello,
The post was inspiring Veena. You are very right when saying that potters=
have
allot of good things to share. I envy the thought of you getting to meet =
so
many of our friends over there and only wish I had been with you! I can d=
rive
a straight-shift.. That means I could earn my keep!
Thanks for sharing the trip with us...
William Edwards
____________________________________________________________________
Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=3D=
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