How to start a studio Pottery ?

Question

I would like to start hobby pottery studio for learners and professionels. What are the basic equipments required and cost involved ?

I own lamd of 2700 square feet (270 m2 app)

Answer 1

Studio pottery is made by modern artists working alone or in small groups, producing unique items or pottery in small quantities, typically with all stages of manufacture carried out by one individual.[1] Much studio pottery is table ware or cook ware but an increasing number of studio potters produce non-functional or sculptural items. Since the 1980s there has been a distinct trend away from functional pottery (e.g. Grayson Perry) and some studio potters now prefer to call themselves ceramic artists, ceramists or simply artists. Studio pottery is represented by potters all over the world but has strong roots in Britain.

Since the second half of the 20th century ceramics has become more highly valued in the art world. There are now several large exhibitions worldwide, including Collect and Origin (formery the Chelsea crafts fair) in London, SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York (international expositions of sculpture and applied art) that include ceramics as a major art form. Studio pottery is also sold at at high prices, reaching several thousands of pounds for some pieces, in auctions houses such as Bonhams and Sothebys.

British Studio Pottery

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Pre-1900

Notable studios included Castle Hedingham Ware and Martin Brothers.

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1900-1990: Development of contemporary British ceramics

Several influences contributed to the emergence of studio pottery in the early 20th century: art pottery (for example the work of the Martin Brothers and William Moorcroft); the Bauhaus; a rediscovery of traditional artisan pottery and the excavation of large quantities of Song pottery in China.[2]

Leading trends in British studio pottery in the 20th century are represented by Bernard Leach, Dora Billington, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper

Originally trained as a fine artist, Bernard Leach (1887-1979) established a style of pottery, the ethical pot, strongly influenced by Chinese, Korean, Japanese and medieval English forms. After briefly experimenting with earthenware, he turned to stoneware fired to high temperatures in large oil- or wood-burning kilns. This style dominated British studio pottery in the mid 20th century. Leach's influence was disseminated by his writings (e.g. A Potter's Book[3]) and the apprentice system he ran at his pottery in St Ives, Cornwall, through which many notable studio potters passed. Leach taught intermittently at Dartington Hall, Devon from the 1930s.

Other ceramic artists exerted an influence through their positions in art schools. Dora Billington (1890-1968) studied at Hanley School of Art, worked in the pottery industry and was latterly head of pottery at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. She worked in media that Leach did not, e.g. tin-glazed earthenware, and influenced potters such as William Newland, Margaret Hine, Nicholas Vergette and Alan Caiger-Smith.

Lucie Rie (1902-1995) came to London in 1938 as a refugee from Austria. She had studied at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule and has been regarded as essentially a modernist. Rie experimented and produced new glaze effects. She was a friend of Leach and was greatly impressed by his approach, especially about the "completeness" of a pot.[4] The bowls and bottles which she specialised in are finely potted and sometimes brightly coloured. She taught at Camberwell College of Arts from 1960 until 1972.

Hans Coper (1920-1981), also a refugee, worked with Rie before moving to a studio in Hertfordshire. His work is non-functional, sculptural and unglazed. He was commissioned to produce large ceramic candlesticks for Coventry Cathedral in the early 1960s. He taught at Camberwell College of Arts from 1960 to 1969, where he influenced Ewen Henderson. He taught at the Royal College of Art from 1966 to 1975, where his students included Elizabeth Fritsch, Alison Briton, Jacqui Poncelet, Carol McNicoll, Geoffrey Swindell, Jill Crowley, and Glenys Barton, all of whom produce non-functional work.

After the Second World War, studio pottery in Britain was encouraged by two forces: the wartime ban on decorating manufactured pottery and the modernist spirit of the Festival of Britain.[5] Studio potters provided consumers with an alternative to plain industrial ceramics. Their simple, functional designs chimed in with the modernist ethos. Cranks restaurant, which opened in 1961, used Winchombe pottery throughout, which Tanya Harrod describes as "handsome, functional with pastoral but up to date air".[6] Cranks represented the look of the period. Elizabeth David's food revolution of the post-war years was associated with a similar kitchen look and added to the demand for hand-made tableware.

Harrod notes that several potteries were formed in response to this fifties boom. There was in turn a demand for potters trained in workshop practice and able to throw quickly. As this training was not offered by the art schools of the period, the Harrow Art School studio pottery diploma was created to fill the gap. According to Harrod, "the production potter of the Harrow type had a good innings well into the seventies", by which time the market for this style of pottery was falling away.

Answer 2

First you need to be in the right location....to get enough support from users/ sharers and potential buyers of the pots when they are made. You have to make it pay and how are you going to finance it. Are you going to charge for teaching classes in pottery? Are you hoping to get professionals to share the costs.? Setting up a pottery with a large enough kiln and several wheels is going to be expensive, Then you need space for the clay bins, shelving for the drying pots until you have enough to make up a firing, somewhere to put the fired ware to cool gradually, large tables to work at for glazing / decorating etc. I think a feasibility study is essential. If you had a local college, or arts centre who have the equipment it would be easiest to use their facilities. Think hard before you jump in. Gas / electric for your firing is getting expensive.

I'm NOT trying to put you off but I have worked for friends who have been quite successful in two different studios, in Yorkshire and Ireland. Both now work abroad. Have you ever worked in a pottery. I think you should try it first. Wishing you all the best of luck with your idea. S