Maker's Lunch with DEBBIE BARBER- Friday 2nd JUNE 2017

 

Debbie Barber is one of our featured makers for June, and we are delighted that she has agreed to visit the gallery to discuss her new body of work and chat over lunch.

Debbie is a ceramic artist who specialises in raku and smoke fired ceramics and works from her home studio in rural Leicestershire.

Her art and design training was in textile decoration and embroidery. After ten years, she changed course and returned to college to train as a potter having a lifelong interest in ceramics. She retains her influences from her textile background.

She loves pattern and colour and takes inspiration from the natural world – trees, plants and the birds in her garden and the surrounding countryside.

Visitors are asked to arrive for Noon and we should be finished by 2pm, depending upon discussions over lunch in The Stable.

Tickets are £15 per person and we have a few remaining places available. Please telephone the Gallery on 01905 754 484 to reserve your place.

Gallery Maker's Lunch - 6th May 2017 - KEITH VARNEY

The second of the Gallery's Maker's Lunches involved Keith Varney whose work has been in the gallery since he was in our Annual Graduate Show in 2011. I have to say that the two hour session went by very quickly and I suspect that this was a reflection of the level of engagement between Keith and the ceramic enthusiasts who attend the lunch.

There was a strong feeling that Keith was a highly skilled maker whose work was uniquely his voice. Most were surprised when he talked about the way he made each piece and his ability to bring together complex shapes with no evidence of a join or 'the potter's thumb'. He responded to all of the many questions with candour  and welcomed all of the considerable feedback which he received during the session.

One of the issues that emerges from these revealing discussions with makers is the interest in the 'what' – probably more so than the 'how'. Even though high level technical skills are admired, the maker's motivation and creative drive is what marks them out as special people. Keith has always been a maker - since childhood indeed -  and whilst he initially he became a furniture designer and maker, his conversion to clay was absolute.



                                                                               A fine group of his latest work is featured in the   gallery until the end of this month – do take the opportunity to see some truly original ceramic art.




Stuart Dickens
Ceramic Curator
8 May 2017

THE CURATOR'S VIEW – May 2017

Four featured makers this month, three of whom have been shown at Bevere before and we are delighted to welcome back.

 Guy Routledge was a great success when he first exhibited his distinctive sculptural pieces here in 2016. His is a striking individual voice and the range of his figurative sculpture from small to large scale clearly appealed to our visitors. There is an increasing interest in ceramic sculpture particularly when someone like Guy brings such a unique perspective to his subjects.

Jill Shaddock first appeared at Bevere in our annual graduate show some time ago. She is arguably one of the most talented potters using the casting technique amongst her generation. Her tricolour cast bowls are immaculate and she clearly accepts only the highest quality in her finished pieces. She was at Ceramic Art London (CAL) this year and had a successful show – not difficult to understand why, given the elegant look of her work.

Keith Varney has been  featured at Bevere several times. Again, we have an original voice whose complex pieces have always drawn curiosity and admiration in equal proportion. Whatever the size of his pieces they each have a presence which derives from Keith's creative energy and inventive skills. He will also be participating in our Makers Lunch to be held on Saturday May 6 – do contact the gallery to get tickets.

Finn Dam Rasmussen, from Denmark is the new maker to the gallery.  He made an impressive appearance at CAL in 2016 and again this year. We are delighted to be be showing his strong sculptural pieces with salt-glazed decoration for the first time at Bevere. His decoration is a major feature and we have spent time ourselves looking at the layering of his slipwork and the attractive patterns some of which are quite complex. Certainly pots that will benefit from a second and third look.

So that's the Bevere line up for May. Enjoy