The Leach Pottery is excited to host Netherlands slipware potter Niek Hoogland. He will be exploring the intersection of functional and ornamental pots, layering these ideas in the slipware work he produces:

“Slipware ceramics have a tradition of passing on, telling stories, embellishing everyday life and celebrating and commemorating occasions. They are steeped in tradition and have many local variations and interpretations.

Traditions are important for passing on cultural heritage, but they can also narrow the view. To keep traditions alive, they must be able to open up to outside influences.”

About Niek Hoogland

Niek grew up in a region with a long tradition of slipware making and has always wanted to be a potter. His initial training began with one of the last traditional slipware potters in his local town.

He went on to complete an apprenticeship with Joop Crompvoets at Pottenbakkerij De Walsberg, Swalmen, Netherlands. Here he learnt about Bernard Leach and the studio pottery tradition.

Niek says:

“A Potter’s Book didn’t have a big impact on me when I first read it. It was when I started to come over to the UK to take part in ceramics fairs at Rufford and Hatfield that I started to understand the impact Leach and Hamada, through the publication of this book and what grew from that, have had on the world of ceramics and the community of ceramic makers.”