1 EAGLETON NOTES: And Now For Something Completely Different

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Thursday 26 May 2016

And Now For Something Completely Different

Over the years I have collected the occasional piece of pottery that interested me. Here are a few of those that remain in my collection.

Pot, 17cm, by Vee Harper, Guildfod Village Potters, Perth, Western Australia.
Possibly my favourite piece for a number of reasons:
It is beautifully simple in form and yet the outcome is wonderfully complex in colour and texture
and, for me, it represents so much of 'the colour of Australia'.

Handmade stoneware figure, 19cm, by Natàlia Ferré, Forès, Spain

Handmade stoneware teapot, 30cm, of Margaret Thatcher as Britannia in the style of Gerald Scarfe by Sue Blair of Borve Pottery on the Isle of Lewis
One of my most valued (and probably valuable) pieces which I fell in love with the second I saw it in an exhibition back in the day and had to have despite, at the time, being unable to afford it.

Made by a member of the Napier Pottery Club, 16 cm, and bought in a shop in Napier, New Zealand.
It is probably the least expensive piece I've ever bought (a perfect example of someone undervaluing their worth) and yet one of the most expressive of pieces.

Golden Eagle, 21cm, modelled by Tom Mackie of Aviemore and produced by Scotia Ceramics at Coll Pottery on the Isle of Lewis

33 comments:

  1. What a great collection. I would never have guessed the third one to be a teapot if you hadn't said so! :) My personal choice out of these five would be the girl in blue, though. (Somehow I often tend to feel drawn to the colour blue in pottery as well as other artwork.)

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    1. The girl in blue has a particular charm Monica but if you asked me why I couldn't tell you.

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    2. She has a bit of an 'attitude' as well, doesn't she! ;) but not easy to put in words

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  2. Lovely work! I mean really lovely.

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  3. They are all lovely. I really like the first one, yes, the colours of Australia. Did I see it? I can feel it under my fingers but don't know if it's a memory feel or an imagined one.

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    1. Pauline I'm sure you would have. If you are in the sitting/living room and look at the wall with the TV there is a recess with shelves in the wall. It's there.

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  4. Nice pieces from a wide range of locations.

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  5. Thank you for showing this on your blog! I very much enjoy watching "Antique Road Show" from England and seeing the various pieces that they show. I love it when I guess correctly the ones that are more valuable. I love all of yours.

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    1. Thank you Kay. None of the pieces is antique but several are unique.

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  6. No 1 would certainly be my favourite too. A lovely pot; I covet it.

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  7. I have never been interested in ceramics but the vase is pleasing. The teapot it brilliant. It's big as well. Did the potter or sculptor make a set of them?

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  8. The Thatcher teapot is funny! Have you ever actually used it as a teapot?
    My favourite of this collection is definitely the first piece, no doubt about it. Had you not described it, I would have thought it to be an antique piece. Simple, classic shape.

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    1. No Meike. I suspect it would be rather impractical. I'm glad that you like the first pot.

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  9. The golden eagle is a real piece of art, the others are interesting as well, but that one caught my attention immediately.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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    1. Mersad, Tom Mackie sculpted some absolutely wonderful wildlife as well as many other things.

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  10. Love hem all - as you knopw - but Sue Blair's is the masterpiece.

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  11. You're completely potty! If you asked me to choose one piece, it would be the vase by Vee Harper and I see what you mean about the colours of Australia.

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    1. I plead guilty as charged YP. I've always been a little potty. I'm glad that you like that vase.

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  12. Like your collection of hung artwork, your collection of ceramics is truly beautiful, unique and eclectic Graham. You have a great eye.

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    1. Thank you Carol. How did you know I only had one eye?

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  13. You have some very interesting pieces of pottery, Graham! I love that your favourite is Australian!

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    1. Thank you Liz. It was that piece that started my collection if I remember correctly.

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  14. An interesting variety of pots, all cherished for different reasons. I am not sure which one is my favourite, but it might be the eagle, because it seems to have such a presence. I also love the Australian pot. I only ever choose to buy works of art if i feel I can keep looking at them and appreciating them. Often what appeals immediately isn't what ends up winning my heart.

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    1. Thanks Jenny. I do occasionally end up acquiring an artwork that ceases to captivate me and when that happens I have no compunction in disposing of it or relegating it to the loft.

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  15. I love pottery, too, Graham. Most of the pieces I have are small, and fit nicely on the bookshelves intermixed with the books (lay the books on their sides, place pottery on top). But a few things are truly unusual: a couple of pieces that a potter friend gave to me: a vase with a face on it, and my personal favorite, a head about six inches high of my granddaughter made from a photograph as a surprise gift for me. (My granddaughter thinks that artistically it's attractive, but that since it's actually a replica of her, it's kind of creepy. I keep it on my desk where I see it every day anyway!) Half the fun of collecting these things, is remembering where I got them: The pottery shop at the Whitbread's Farm in Kent, the pottery at Corncrafters in Monk's Eleigh, Suffolk, and some small clay churches from both old and New Mexico, where my granddaughter now lives. I enjoyed seeing some of your collection, Graham. I think I agree that the vase at the top would be my favourite too, for the lovely colours in it. Thanks for sharing these. xoxox DeeDee

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    1. That was nice to hear DeeDee. I agree that remembering where a piece came from is a very large part of the attraction. I was pondering exactly that over one piece recently and it took me ages to recall. All of a sudden the piece seemed less interesting for a while and I've still not quite forgiven my memory.

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  16. I love every single piece in your collection but my favorite would have to be the one made by the Napier Pottery Club member...simple.
    I also like the girl in blue but the Margaret Thatcher pot is a hoot....tea anyone?

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    1. Yes Virginia I love the simple charm of that piece as well.

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