Saying Goodbye to Robin Hopper and John Glick

Two giants of the contemporary studio pottery movement passed away on the same day last Thursday. Both were important and influential leaders. We send our condolences to all who knew them and to their families who surely will miss these two dynamic potters. 

Robin Hopper 1939 - 2017

Canadian potter, Robin Hopper, wrote informative and well-received ceramic textbooks, taught pottery making workshops around the world, ran a flourishing pottery business, Chosin Pottery in Victoria, British Columbia with his wife Judi Dyelle, and on top of all that, was quite a remarkable gardener. In 1977 he was the first recipient of the prestigious Saidye Bronfman Award, Canada’s most prestigious annual award in the crafts.

He gave his life mostly to clay. During his long career, he made many beautiful pots but was also a man of diverse interests and talents. He found clay as a young boy in London in the bombed out areas during WW2 and never looked back. Creativity was a way of making meaning out of sorrow. Besides always coming back to clay, he had been involved with the stage and other interests during his lifetime.

Image1: One of Robin Hopper's six classic books on the making of ceramics. Most of his books are still in print and readily available. Image 2: Early spring growth and maple tapestry at the Central Pond in the Anglojapandian Garden at Chosin Pottery, a long-term labor of love for Robin Hopper.

Image 1: Robin Hopper, "Covered Vessel", Image 2: Swan Song was Robin's last project, a video of his life to benefit two special causes – research and treatment into pediatric cancer, and arts programming for school-aged youth.

Robin's life is chronicled in The Swan Song video. A digital DVD is available for purchase at Gumroad. Most of us knew he had been ill and his end of life was just as he wanted it to be. Loved by his students and many admirers, he shared his thoughts and reflections on Facebook over the last year of his life. It is both touching and informative of a life well- lived.

John Glick 1938 -2017

John Glick was an American maverick. After an education in ceramic art at Wayne State University, a Masters from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and a stint in the army, he opened his Plum Tree Pottery in Farmington Hills, Michigan in 1964. He went on to become one of the most admired potters of the 20th century. Creating functional works with a powerful style and unbridled zest, he helped lay the groundwork for the studio pottery movement in the United States.

Image 1: John Glick, "Covered Box", ca. 1970, from the Bailey Collection of Contemporary Ceramics, Image 2:John Glick, "Large Plate", ca. 2000

Image 1: John Glick "Drinking Horn,"1968., Image 2: John Glick, "Tray," 2013.

His influence can be seen to this day in young potters' work and in others who aspire to work full-time as potters. John wrote many articles about that very subject, helping potters understand the practical side of running a studio. However, his work was far from pedestrian. Working from his studio for over 50 years, he pushed the borders of function creating new and exciting shapes from extruded boxes to giant slab pieces which were all glazed in his wild and exuberant way.

John Glick also led practical workshops, and he inspired many interns and apprentices who came to work for him over the years. His work is in many public and private collections and has been shown in gallery and museum exhibitions over the past 50 years. Last month a restrospective of his lifetime of work, John Glick: A Legacy in Clay, closed after a nine month run at the Cranbrook Museum of Art. John and his wife, Susie Symons, were planning to retire in California soon to be near family. Our sympathy to his family and his many friends and admirers.

Both men will be deeply missed by the clay community but will be remembered for the legacies they left behind. Jim and I feel lucky to have crossed their paths and to have had conversations with both over the years. We all stand on their shoulders. To read more about their lives please click on the links below.

-Anne and Jim Bailey

Robert Amos/Times Colonist, An artist facing cancer reflects on what inspired life's work

Bill Hunt/Ceramic Monthly, John Glick: A Legacy