Description
Book SynopsisWritten by Bernard Leach, the father of British studio pottery, this seminal book is the first treatise to be written by a potter on the workshop traditions handed down from the greatest period of Chinese ceramics in the Sung dynasty. With this book, potters can learn everything from how to adapt recipes for pigments and glazes to designing kilns.
Trade Review“With his writings as well as with his ceramics, Leach played a major role in elevating the status of the European potter from craftsman to artist, thereby paving the way for the twentieth-century studio pottery movement.” * New York Times *
"This updated edition of the classic by Leach (British potter and teacher) belongs on every ceramist’s bookshelf. Minor text changes, a look at Leach’s impact on the West, and numerous color photographs make this an even more valuable resource than the 1940 original.
Highly recommended." * Choice *
"This fine new edition of
A Potter’s Book, first published in 1940, shows representative images of his work (and sometimes his son David’s) alongside Japanese or Korean wares made from similar bodies or using similar glazes. It is always easy to spot the Leach." * Times Literary Supplement *
"This edition, published 75 years after the first edition in 1940, remains faithful to Leach’s text, while also including color versions of the original images (where available), color images of his pots, and additional images to clarify various points. A preface by Leach’s grandson, Philip Leach, updates the family’s story and frames the important role this book has played in countless potters’ lives." * Ceramic Arts *
"Despite the idiosyncrasy of Leach’s East-meets-West output and ideas, he expressed these so often and with such solemn conviction in numerous books, talks and tours that by the 1950s they had become doctrine.
A Potter’s Book (1940) had the greatest impact: even today, its mixture of poetry, philosophy and practical instruction earns it the soubriquet 'the potter’s bible'." * Apollo *
Table of ContentsThe Leach Legacy by Philip Leach
Leach in Japan by Soyetsu Yanagi
Preface by Michael Cardew
Author’s Preface
1. Towards a Standard
2. Raku - English Slipware - Stoneware - Porcelain
3. Clays
4. The Making of Clay Shapes
5. Decoration
6. Pigments and Glazes
7. Kilns
8. The Workshop
Footnotes
Appendix A - Potters Terms, Tools & Materials
Appendix B - Conversion Charts
Appendix C - Seger Pyrometric Cones
Image Credits
Index
