Ceramic legend

“That was the nice thing about clay,” he said. “If you didn’t like the way something really was, you could always fix it up,”

The exuberant, playful work of David James Gilhooly made him an international sensation in the late 60s through the early 80s. His whimsical ceramic creations began with animals, including zebras and anteaters, and then there were frogs, lots and lots of frogs.

Born into a long lineage of accomplished, traditional pueblo potters in 1970, Cavan Gonzales has added his unique 21st-century interpretation. He has been a leader in the revival of San Idelfonso polychrome pottery. This technique involves the application of three or more layers of colored slip to create designs. Cavan's fine graphic arts skills have been applied to creating new designs inspired not only from the past but also the present by adding elements of technology such as solar energy.

“This technique provides a wide range of bright, sharp colors. More importantly, I feel the majolica technique best allows me to convey the kind of attitude or feeling I want my pottery to invoke – that is one of lightheartedness.”

Stanley Mace Andersen’s functional earthenware tableware certainly achieves his goal. The exuberance of his flowing brushstrokes creates a rush of good feelings, like a walk through a meadow on a perfect summer day.

In England, where Richard Batterham was born in 1936, he is considered the leading living maker of domestic stoneware. It’s a reputation that has been made by a life spent diligently working with discipline and talent to perfect his functional forms and lovely muted glazes.

Interested in craft and design from a young age, Richard studied at the Bryanston School. He was taught pottery by Donald Potter who had worked with Eric Gill and Michael Cardew. After his National Service, he apprenticed with Bernard Leach at St. Ives for two years. He married Dinah Dunn in 1959, and they set up housekeeping in Durweston, Dorset.

A Rich and Rewarding Life

by Jim Bailey

I first met Betty Woodman in 1971 in Antella, Italy. Betty and her husband George had just recently bought a small, stone house perched on a hillside overlooking olive groves with dreamlike Florence in the distance. Betty's studio was under the house. It was very simple and small with a treadle wheel and basic shelving.

“I first touched clay at age 40 and knew immediately that I had been a potter all along. I love to make pots! For me, the joy and the challenge comes from making things that will become an intimate part of the daily lives of others – pots that will be held, eaten from, poured from, sipped or even licked from. For me the making of pots is a way to celebrate the mundane rituals of daily life and to make them holy.”

Celebrating a Fully Creative Life

The fully creative life of Paulus Berensohn, artist, dancer, potter, teacher, journal maker, philosopher and deep ecologist is being celebrated by the many people whose lives he touched. His 1970s book, "Finding One's Way with Clay", is where many came to know him and his philosophy of ceramics. A 2013 documentary, "To Spring from the Hand: The Life and Work of Paulus Berensohn", tells the story of a long life of compassionate, creative contemplation. How lucky we are that he so generously shared himself with us.

Featured Work in the Bailey Collection