One of John Leach’s one-off signed exhibition pots. Each pot has been handmade by John, and impressed with his personal seal as well as that of the pottery. This jug was purchased by Peter from the final exhibition curated by our then Director Maureen Bampton, ‘Stalwarts’ (4 February – 18 March 2017).
Muchelney pottery is made from stoneware using clay sourced in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, mixed to the pottery’s own recipe. The ‘toasted’ finish on the pots is the spontaneous effect of woodfiring at very high temperatures.
To bid on this piece, please contact us via email at crafts@bluecoatdisplaycentre.com, or phone on 0151 709 4014, and quote the maker’s name and reference number with your offer.
John Leach, eldest grandson of renowned potter Bernard Leach and son of David Leach, continues the family tradition at Muchelney Pottery on the edge of the ancient village of Muchelney in the heart of the Somerset Levels.
He started the pottery in 1965 with his wife Lizzie, who manages the Pottery Shop adjacent to the workshops. Master Potters, Nick Rees and Mark Melbourne, work alongside John. Making up the crew is Nick’s daughter Rachael Rees, who helps co-ordinate the exhibitions in the John Leach Gallery.
Muchelney kitchen pots are used daily in kitchens all over the world, but the pottery is still very much a small family business. The pots are all lovingly hand-thrown, using local clays, and wood-fired in the three-chambered kiln to the high stoneware temperature of 1320°C, which creates their distinctive ‘toasted’ finish.
About ‘Stalwarts’:
This exhibition presented ceramic works by John Leach, John Ward, David & Margaret Frith, Emily Myers, Duncan Ross and Gabriele Koch. These luminaries can be seen in major national public collections and this exhibition represented a unique opportunity for the general public to view and purchase their very collectable work.
All have a long standing relationship with Bluecoat Display Centre and showed a new collection of works. There was also a supporting loan display of earlier works by these artists drawn from the collection of National Museums Liverpool, with all the works having been purchased in the past from Bluecoat Display Centre.