Village Squire, 1976-02, Page 13North America too. There was a great stress on drawing incl
Michael spent eight hours a week just drawing. He like drawing
so well, he says, he'd like to be able to get away from pottery for a
while and just sit and draw, to give himself a break and some new
inspiration, but setting up a new business comes first. •
The final three years of his education .were in environmental
design in textiles and printed surface design but his practical
work was biassed toward pottery and, he admits, he spent more
time in the pot shop than he should have and ended up having to
work like heck in the third year to make up for his lost time.
His study of textile design, while seemingly a different field
altogether than pottery, indeed helps him out in his present craft,
he says. "It's enabled me to do things on pots that have almost
died out," he says. There are many fine potters around but little
emphasis on the decoration of the pottery.
This emphasis on decoration is one of the effects of the
influence of Chinese work on his pottery. "Throughout history
they've always had a feeling of form and a standard for
craftsmanship," he says. The Chinese pottery has a feeling of
solidarity without the clumsy look of the German pottery. It has a
grace and flare and a touch of elegance, he says One of the
things he most proud of in his own work, he says, is the
craftsmanship
The English tradition is also an influence in his work Slipware
was the pottery of almost medieval times which was basic
functional pottery At first it was just for the lords and ladies but
later as time progressed with the advent of Wedgewood and
Thomas Toft at the beginnings of the industrial revolution and
the tradition of earthenware was transposed to the lower classes
as well
His interest, he says, is in good quality basic functional ware at
a reasonable price. He can't produce pottery to the standards of
some of the imported, massed produced pottery, he say s.
because these use molds and can produce it far less expensnel\.
His aim. he says. is for the middle -price format, Tess expensive
than the most expensive and more expensive than the cheapest
Up, up come the sides, with careful timing and precision.
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VILLAGE SQUIRE/FEBRUARY 1976, 11 •