GRETA BERTRAM, CURATOR, CRAFTS STUDY CENTRE

‘The Remix’ is a re-presentation of the Centre’s fiftieth anniversary exhibition ‘Moving Forward: The Crafts Study Centre at 50’, which sadly had to close several months earlier than planned due to covid-19. In the original exhibition, the CSC’s Trustees, former Chairs and members of the Acquisitions Committee each selected a group of objects that were of particular interest to them and their fields of study in modern craft. The Remix contains a curated selection of those objects alongside new additions picked by the Centre’s staff to make a total of fifty items – a sort of ’50 at 50’.

The ‘Moving Forward’ exhibition was accompanied by a series of short essays from the Trustees, Chairs and Acquisitions Committee about their choices; in this blog the Centre’s staff explain their selections…

Simon Olding, Director:

Bill Marshall said he wanted to make pots with ‘nothing gimmicky or flashy to attract attention’. This dish, made at his pottery in Lelant, Cornwall, expresses his quiet, yet commanding, skills.

2015.20.5. Square-sided stoneware bowl with decorative glaze splashes by William Marshall.

Greta Bertram, Curator:

I just LOVE baskets. They’re not really a core part of the Centre’s collecting remit so I was delighted to find that we did have some examples. I really like the combination of simplicity and intricacy in this two-colour plaited baskets.

2009.22.158. Basket with a long shoulder strap and geometric design, made from ‘ramban’ (a local creeper), by the Penan people of Sarawak. From Peter Collingwood’s world collection.

Shirley Dixon, Archivist:

Robin Tanner met Cecil Crouch in 1922 when both were training to be teachers and they maintained a close friendship for the rest of their lives. One has a funny self portrait, and in another you can see how is writing is getting sloppy because he is so tired.

CRO/1/11, 22, 23, 76. Letters from Robin Tanner to his friend Cecil Crouch, 1923 – 1928.

Margaret Madden, Information & Administration Officer:

I find the bright yellow glaze with sprinkles of gold uplifting. When combined with Emmanuel’s unique jug form it conveys a real sense of fun which always makes me smile.

2005.22. Porcelain jug with a yellow glaze and gold lustre decoration, Emmanuel Cooper, 2005.

Ingrid Stocker, Information & Administration Officer:

I have been a huge fan of Takeshi’s work ever since he had his exhibition here at the Crafts Study Centre in 2005. I find his work very tactile, beautiful and functional, and get great pleasure from it.

2005.1. Porcelain platter with a celadon glaze, Takeshi Yasuda, c.2005.

Nao Fukumoto, Reception Assistant:

This piece looks so simple but the more I look the more I see how its depth and variation are wound together.

T.82.11. Drawloom weaving sample with a graphic design, Amelia Uden, c.1980.

Melanie Lucas, Marketing & Design:

Robin Tanner’s ‘The Plough’ was one of the first pieces of work I came across when I started working with the Crafts Study Centre. I was instantly enchanted and I never tire of looking at it – it invokes a sense of magic and mystery. The detail and depth of Tanner’s etchings shimmer and come to life, drawing me in as if I am by his side, immersed in their story.

2012.5.6. Etching, The Plough, Robin Tanner, 1974.

The Remix reflects the range of the Centre’s collections and some of the key names, whilst also trying to be representative of everyone’s original choices. The ceramics centre on the larger scale, stand-alone pieces from the original exhibition, such as Philip Eglin’s large slip-trailed jug, Mick Casson’s salt-glazed jug, and Emmanuel Cooper’s celadon-glazed porcelain buckets. Not to mention a distinct lack of work by Bernard Leach – as his work figures prominently in our current ground-floor exhibition ‘The Leach Pottery: 100 years on from St Ives’. With the calligraphy and lettering we have included work in a range of materials and techniques – with cut, engraved, written and painted lettering on vellum, paper, textiles, glass and stone by figures such as Edward Johnston and Tom Perkins.

We have only been able to feature some of the smaller pieces from the furniture and wood collections in the Remix – most notably fluted dishes by David Pye and a model table by Alan Peters. The textiles include both printed works (Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher, Enid Marx and Susan Bosence) and woven works (Peter Collingwood and Stella Benjamin), from hangings to rugs – and also a quilted piece by Diana Harrison and painted textiles by Carole Waller. Archival material has come from the papers of Ethel Mairet, the Oxshott Pottery archive, and letters from Robin Tanner, one of the Centre’s founding Trustees to his lifelong friend, Cecil Crouch.

The exhibition will be on until 1 May 2021. We hope to reopen our galleries early in the New Year. Please keep an eye on our website and social media pages for opening updates.