Osborne & Osborne: Pottery Rooted in Cornwall
I love local pottery. There is something quite wonderful about driving around Cornwall and spotting a maker’s sign beside the road. It doesn’t have to be pottery either. I am intrigued by anything homemade or handmade. I love the chance discovery of it all. I’m naturally nosey, I suppose. I want to peer in. Cornwall’s pottery tradition Cornwall has a rich ceramic tradition. The county has supplied china clay to the world for generations, an important ingredient in porcelain, and Wheal Martyn Clay Works tells the story of that industry. Then there is the Leach Pottery in St Ives, founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, whose influence on studio pottery extends far beyond Cornwall. I prefer pottery where the maker’s hand remains visible. I like pieces that feel as though they could have been drawn from the ground itself, with glazes that sit somewhere between familiar shades and textures that make you want to stroke them, hold ...