News & For Sale

Fifteen members visited Michael’s studio on 16th May and enjoyed an inspiring day in the lovely setting of their house and studio deep in Devon countryside near Ashwater. Michael started by telling us about his pottery education and influences and about how he and Yvonne have developed a successful pottery business making and selling his popular and most attractive domestic…

Paul makes most imaginative and humorous sculptural work. The images he makes are dream-like and contemplative and play with the conventions of fairytales and fables, often turning stories on their heads and twisting them. Goldilocks has made peace with the bears and Red Riding Hood has grown up to be a confident femme fatale who entrances the Wolf. His style is…

In the morning session Peter gave a superb presentation and talk. He used a wide variety of wonderful photos of his work. Many photos showed the numerous countries he has visited, the people he has worked with and met there and their pottery traditions. This has clearly influenced his pottery and his thinking and philosophy. He spoke with great humour…

We enjoyed a really informative demonstration by Paul who showed us the techniques he uses to make his characterful and joyful sculptures. Paul will be attending a number of events this summer along with running a weekend masterclass in Italy.

Roughly 80 members and guests were treated to a fascinating talk and demonstration by Peter Hayes at this year’s event. As part of the business we welcomed a number of new committee members and a new Chair. Full details will be in the May/June magazine.

Over 60 members were treated to a fascinating demonstration by Sue Mundy. Sue explained her influences and her personal journey to her current practice. A full report will appear in the WPA magazine

What a wonderful weekend. We certainly celebrated 30 years of Westcountry Potters Association in such a great way with so many exciting things to take part in or to watch. It is almost impossible to pick out the high points as there were so many but what stands out most was the way in which everyone joined in with such…

For those who missed it, the recording of the Green Maker Initiative Webinar: Can Potters Save the Earth? is now available to watch here: Green Maker Initiative | Resources — MAKE Southwest

On Saturday 4th November 2023, Tim rounded off our 30th Anniversary year in style with a delightful, witty and far-ranging presentation followed by an inspiring demonstration after lunch.  All this was very much appreciated by the 120 members and guests who made up the full house audience many of whom took the opportunity of buying one of Tim’s pieces.

Mark demonstrated how he makes and decorates his highly distinctive sculptural and functional slip decorated pieces. The audience of over 50 learned so many useful tips about both slip trailing and stencil preparation and decoration. A full report will be published in our May/June magazine.

Over 60 members and guests were treated to a wonderful demonstration by Ellen from her studio in Delft. She started outside the building showing us the classic view painted by Vermeer before turning to show the outside of the Huszár building designed by architects from De Stijl as a window factory, where Ellen and several other craftspeople have their studios….

What an end to our 2022 demonstration programme. Susan O’Byrne delighted an audience of well over 60 with an enthralling demonstration covering her full making process from preparing the paper clay, through armature building, making the structural elements of the body and some wonderful decoration. A full report will be published in a future edition of the magazine. Click here…

Over 60 members enjoyed one our most inspiring online demonstrations courtesy of Rachel Wood. Rachel’s approach to surface texture and decoration is really fascinating and everyone thoroughly enjoyed her engaging presentation.

Over 50 WPA members enjoyed Lisa’s online demonstration of her Modern Maiolica work. She uses a variety of techniques which are unfamiliar to many potters, including a sintering firing of the base glaze application prior to decoration and there were many questions which Lisa answered very thoroughly. You can take a look at Lisa’s work here.

We held our annual Potters’ Market on Exeter Quay on Saturday 30th July with over 20 members represented. The weather was kind and the quay was busy with brisk sales and some very positive feedback from both members and visitors alike.

This year’s WPA exhibition at Craft Festival on 17-19 June was a great success with 22 WPA members selected to exhibit. We sold over £2,400 worth of their work and signed up 23 new members. Thanks to all those who managed the stand setup, stewarding and generally supporting the event. Next year’s Craft Festival will take place from 9-11 June.

Nearly 30 members attended Longdown village hall for a enthusiastic and energetic demonstration by Russel. Taking us through his skills as a production thrower Russell produced various different forms, and generously gave us technical details about kiln building, slips and the glazes he uses. Rose Ellis has kindly written an article with more information, including the recipes! Due to appear…

Despite the difficulties of the pandemic we were pleased to have been able to offer a wide range of activities both ‘in person’ and ‘virtual’ last year. These included demonstrations by Wendy Kershaw, Patricia Shone, Craig Underhill, Arwyn Jones, Emily Myers, Chris Bramble and Brendan Hesmondhalgh along with a discussion by Mary Fox from her home in Canada. Our thanks…