Matthew Tyas

Matthew Tyas

Matthew Tyas

Leach Pottery Curator & Dept. Director, Matt squeezes in his potting at Bosence Farm in a workshop that is part of a drug and alcohol treatment centre. Here, he also gives classes to residents.

Matt is currently exploring the expressiveness of the clay surface and developing glazes that respond to one another in the heat of the kiln. Clay is the foundation of the pot, so there is often a tension between glaze application and allowing space for the clay’s expression.

Matt has been making pots for over 20 years and, alongside setting up the occasional workshop, gained an MA in Ceramics from Cardiff (2008) and a PhD from Falmouth University (2014) working with the Leach Pottery and the University to examine how digital technology could be used from a craft maker’s perspective to design and make 21st Century Standard Ware.

Matt’s potter’s marks feature in: Yates-Owen, E., Fournier, R., 2015. British Studio Potters’ Marks, 3rd ed. Bloomsbury.

Matt is currently working on a Leach Pottery Reader and has contributed to the following publications:

  • Author: ‘Pierre Culot at the Leach Pottery: 1958 to 1959’. In Pierre Culot: 1938 – 2011. Yale University Press, 2023

  • Author: ‘Bernard Leach & Kai Althoff: An Unorthodox Pairing’. In Kai Althoff Goes with Bernard Leach. Whitechapel Gallery, 2021

  • Author: ‘Pottery to Enrich Life’. In The Modernist. The Modernist Society, March 2021

  • Author: ‘The Leach Pottery: A Living Tradition’. In Ceramic Review. Ceramic Review Publishing Limited, May 2020

  • Editor: Trevor Corser: His Life & Work. The Leach Pottery, 2016

  • Author: ‘Falling in Love Again: Jeff Oestreich and Pat Burns at the Leach Pottery in St Ives’. In Ceramics: Art & Perception. Mansfield Ceramics, December, 2015

  • Author: ‘Designing 21st Century Standard Ware: The Cultural Heritage of Leach and the Potential Applications of Digital Technologies.’ In All Makers Now: Craft Values in 21st Century Production, International Conference Proceedings. Falmouth University, 2015

  • Editor: ‘Emmanuel Cooper: Connections & Contrasts’. The Leach Pottery, 2015.