I’ve prepared another Picasa album. This time it includes all the splendid ceramics I photographed when I was on a brief trip to England last September. Earlier I posted work seen in Cambridge but I never got around to assembling these for you pottery fanatics to see. They certainly make a big contrast to the ancient Mexican work I posted recently. I see the British work all the time in Ceramic Review but it is always a treat to see it in person.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112208740085943894765/ContemporaryCeramicsInLondonSept2012

I enjoy taking the tube up to Tottenham Court Road and walking north to Percy street where all sorts of fine crafts are displayed in Contemporary Applied Arts. I see that they have acquired property south of the Thames, right near Tate Modern and the gallery will be moving to their new premises in June of 2013. The address will be 89 Southwark Street, near Southwark tube station. So on my next trip to London I shall try to see the new gallery and that’ll be a good chance to visit Tate Modern again.

Once I’d seen CCA I walked back south towards the British Museum where Contemporary Ceramics is now located right across the road. I couldn’t resist taking photos of everything in there again! There are also lots of fine ceramics in the British Museum, including some contemporary pieces in amongst all the ancient work.

A couple of days later, when I was staying with my nephew Mike and his wife Mel and children Molly and Sam in Putney, they decided that they’d like to see the Geffrye Museum with me, on a Saturday. ‘Ceramics in the City’ was showing there so while they explored the historic Alms House I found the 50 clay artists, each sitting with their displays. I was able to meet so many of the people whose work I’d been admiring for years in Ceramic Review magazine.

I was particularly pleased to meet Richard Phethean, one of the potters we’d planned to visit on our cancelled second tour of potteries and archaeology in England. He lives near Banbury and is the new President of the Craft Potters Association (I’m sure I haven’t go the name right). I was pleased to buy a distinctive earthenware mug from him and a copy of his new book ‘Throwing’. That’s a blog for another day..