Our current exhibition Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery explores the life and work of one of the most significant potters of the twentieth century. Today, Cambridge is a thriving centre for ceramics. Here is a short guide to some of the makers and spaces which make up the contemporary ceramics scene in and around Cambridge, as recommended by Kettle’s Yard, put together by Assistant Curator (Projects) Naomi Polonsky.
Local Makers With Work in the Kettle’s Yard Shop
Katharina Klug
Influenced by the timeless simplicity of Lucie Rie’s pots, Austrian-born Katharina Klug works from her home-studio in North Cambridge, creating signature pieces that are characterised by bold colours and hand-drawn crayon lines.
David Stonehouse
David Stonehouse’s hand-crafted pieces include both domestic objects and one-off sculptural vessels. Exploring the effect of different clays and glazes, his works combine contemporary design with artisanal craftsmanship.
The Very Less
Specialising in flowerpots and decorative pieces, The Very Less is a small pottery studio based in Cambridge. Drawing on traditional Japanese ceramics and mid-century Scandinavian design, each piece has its own distinctive character and personality.
Local Pottery Teachers
Sarah Went
Ceramicist Sarah Went runs pottery workshops twice a month on Saturday mornings from her studio in central Cambridge. Tailored to both beginners and more experienced potters and with a maximum of three students per class, the workshops focus on a range of wheel-throwing techniques from simple bowls to teapots.
Matthew Blakely
Matthew Blakely’s monthly weekend courses are designed to teach the basics of ceramics, as well as more complex techniques. The two-day courses, held at Matthew’s studio in Lode, East Cambridgeshire, are suitable for all levels. A film-length demonstration of Blakley’s method of developing glazes from found rocks, clays and ashes is available to view online for a small fee.
Paula Armstrong
Based in Fenstanton, Huntingdon, Paula Armstrong hosts a range of classes in her studio, from one-to-one tuition to ‘clay parties’ for up to ten participants. She also publishes free videos online where she teaches viewers how to make clay baskets, wreathes, tealights and wall flowers.
Local Potteries
Kiln Cambridge
Kiln Cambridge is an open-access ceramics studio, based in a large airy space off Newmarket Road. Beginner and intermediate potters can sign up for eight-week pottery courses, led by Central Saint Martins graduate Tarragon Smith. Working potters and those with some training and experience can apply to become members for access to the studio and its high-quality equipment.
Hills Road Sixth Form College
In addition to their classes for sixth-formers, Hills Road Sixth Form College offers eight-week courses for adult learners, held on Thursday evenings and taught by Hertfordshire-based ceramicist Jane Sleator. Participants are taught how to throw on wheel and hand-build ceramics, as well as gaining an appreciation of different techniques from around the world.
Cambridge Regional College
Based at its site in Milton, Cambridge Regional College has a modern and spacious ceramics studio and hosts evening classes for both beginners and advanced potters. During the ten-week courses participants are introduced to a wide range of techniques and encouraged to experiment widely with making their own pieces.
Bourn Pottery
For a family-friendly option, Bourn Pottery is the perfect spot, offering courses and workshops for children and adults on all aspects of pottery and ceramic work. Led by Sara Wilkinson, classes range from one-to-one sessions for people of all ages to child-focused clay parties and corporate events for adults. Sara also has experience of working on commissions and hires out her kiln for firing full loads or individual pieces.
Rowan
Based in central Cambridge, Rowan offers a range of art classes for adults with learning disabilities, including a pottery workshop. Led by ceramic artist Sarah Nibbs, the classes include various hand-crafting techniques such as slab-building and the pinch method. Students are involved in every aspect of making, from design to glazing, and the objects are fired in the in-house kiln. Many of these unique pieces are available to buy in Rowan’s shop.
Where to See Ceramics Locally
The Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is home to one of the most important collections of ceramics in the UK with exquisite pieces from Europe, the Middle East, East and Southeast Asia. Currently on view in the ceramics gallery, to the right as you enter the museum, is a display of European pottery with works created between the seventeenth century and the present day. Open 10am-5pm (Sundays 12-5pm, closed Mondays) and free to visit.
Clare Hall, Cambridge
Clare Hall’s main site in West Cambridge hosts a permanent exhibition titled ‘The Bell Collection of British Studio Pottery 1920-1980’ with a rotating display drawn from Professor G.H. and Mrs K.M. Bell’s collection of over 320 pots. From 1963 onwards, the Bells collected pottery by leading figures in studio ceramics, including Bernard Leach, Shōji Hamada and Ladi Kwali. Open every day and free to visit.
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Where to Buy Ceramics Locally
Kettle’s Yard Shop
The Kettle’s Yard shop has a wide selection of ceramics and studio pottery, available to buy both at the gallery and online. There are elegant pieces made locally and across the UK, including hand-thrown tableware by the Norwich-based ceramicist Rya Nicholson, experimental knotted vases by London’s Studio Janneke and classic stoneware pieces from Leach Pottery in Cornwall.
Cambridge Contemporary Crafts
Specialising in crafts handmade in the UK, this independent gallery in central Cambridge sells a large range of ceramics by both local and international makers, including Freddie Crossley, Stine Dulong, Helen Adamson and Mizuyo Yamashita.
Cambridge Contemporary Art
Sister gallery to Cambridge Contemporary Craft, this art shop sells functional and decorative pieces by ceramicists such as Katharina Klug, Justine Alison, Karen Banks, Chris Keenan and Hannah Bould – some of whom have been featured in the gallery’s monthly exhibitions.
TOAST Cambridge
Cambridge’s TOAST store on Trinity Street stocks a small selection of ceramics for the home such as mixing bowls from Leach Pottery in Cornwall and vibrant vases by Lucy Rutter.
Where to See More Lucie Rie in Cambridge
If our exhibition has inspired a desire to see more of Lucie Rie’s work, you need not go too far afield. On display in the European pottery gallery at The Fitzwilliam is a selection of Rie’s works from various points in her career. Look out for her exquisite yellow porcelain vase with long drips of brown glaze cascading down from the rim. Or her towering long-necked bottle with its white volcanic surface.
Also on display is a delicate white bowl with faint orange specks, co-created by Rie and her protégé and collaborator Hans Coper. Solo-authored works by Hans Coper stand alongside Rie’s work, including examples of his intriguingly shaped bowls and vases. Other ceramicists represented in the display case include Joanna Howells, Mary Rogers and Joanna Constantinidis – all of whom work in a similar modernist style to Rie and Coper.
Visit Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery at Kettle’s Yard until 25 June 2023.