Specialist Books
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Bernard Leach (1887-1979) was as renowned in Japan and the East as in Europe and America, both as an artist-craftsman and as a thinker. His interpretation of the traditions of the Orient in the making of pots - and in evolving a philosophy of life - was a lodestar for many potters in the West.
Beyond East and West, first published in 1978, is more than an autobiography. Full of sharply- etched and amusing recollections, it contains much of Leach’s deeper thought and a great deal too about the practical application of his ideas. Its recurrent theme is the meeting of East and West at all levels - artistic, cultural, social, political.
Hardback 384 pages.
Publisher Unicorn Publishing Group
ISBN 9781912690213
A high quality Leach Pottery publication that supported and enriched our 2015 Emmanuel Cooper exhibition.
It begins with a foreword by Edmund de Waal that provides a sense of the topography relating to the figures of Bernard Leach and Emmanuel Cooper as advocates, writers, and makers. This is followed by Simon Olding’s essay charting some of the connections and contrasts between Bernard and Emmanuel: their careers shared a similar trajectory, but their social backgrounds, and the site and outcomes of their practice, were quite different.
The following chapter discusses the curatorial approach to the exhibition and surveys items from the Emmanuel Cooper Archive, including early drawings and shots of him making, before presenting a range of work from his later years and a photographic portrait of Emmanuel in his absence. This portrait, by Aileen Harvey, shows something of Emmanuel’s seemingly chaotic workspace and practice, untouched since his death.
A selected biography is then followed by our acknowledgments: we would especially like to thank The Hargreaves and Ball Trust for their support in helping us publish this book.
We hope that you enjoy reading about Emmanuel Cooper as much as we have enjoyed getting to know him through our exhibition and publication.
Cover: extended cover, printed both sides on 300gm uncoated matt laminate paper with specially debossed Leach Pottery logo
Pages: 56 pages printed on 170gm silk paper
Dimensions: 260mm x 200mm.
One of the Craft Council’s 12 best craft books of 2022, this beautiful new hardback edition by Unicorn Publishing of this unique biography, considers the life and work of the late Janet Leach (1918-1997) . Written with a personal touch by her former assistant, friend and fellow potter Joanna Wason. It spans Leach’s early life in Texas, time spent in Japan and New York, and her later years at the Leach Pottery in St Ives.
This biography uses previously unpublished letters, notebooks and diaries and is a richly-informed portrayal of a pioneering potter.
Hardback 160 pages.
Publisher Unicorn Publishing
ISBN 9781916846005
A Leach Pottery publication to compliment the current exhibition in the Cube Gallery, Trevor Corser: 40 Years a Leach Potter and long awaited celebration of the longest standing member of the Leach team. Including contributions from Prof Simon Olding, Craft Study Centre, Farnham and John Bedding, Jeff Oestreich and Clary Illian who all worked alongside Trevor at the Pottery. Introduction by Dr Matthew Tyas (Editor).
32 pages, full colour
ISBN 978-0-9929785-2-5
This fine updated edition of the classic by Bernard Leach belongs on every ceramicist’s bookshelf. It also includes numerous colour photographs, a look at Leach’s impact on the West and lots of technical information interlaced with Leach’s pragmatic wisdom.
Leach Pottery Guide Book
38 pages
Paperback
A new guide book for the Leach Pottery, printed in 2019, contains chapters on Bernard Leach, clay room, old workshop, wheel room, kiln room. Forward by Professor Simon Olding.
Paperback 440 pages
Publisher Yale University Press
ISBN-13 978-1913107116
Product Dimensions 15.5cm x 23.5cm
Widely recognized as the father of studio pottery, Bernard Leach (1887-1979) played a pioneering role in creating an identity for artist potters in Britain and around the world. Born in the East (Hong Kong) and educated in the West (England), throughout his life Leach perceived himself as a courier between the disparate cultures. His exquisite pots reflect the inspiration he drew from East and West as well as his response to the basic tenets of modernism-truth to materials, the importance of function to form, and simplicity of decoration. This outstanding biography provides for the first time a vivid and detailed account of Leach's life and its relation to his art
. Emmanuel Cooper, himself a potter of international reputation, explores Leach's working methods, the seams of his pottery, his writings and philosophy, his recognition in Japan and Britain, and his continuing legacy, bringing into sharp focus a complex man who captured in his work as a potter the "still center" that always eluded him in his tumultuous personal life.
British potter Bernard Leach and Japanese Buddhist philosopher and art critic Soetsu Yanagi were friends and colleagues for more than 50 years. They were founding members of Japan's Folk Craft (Mingei) Movement and Museum. Leach went on to become the most prominent and influential artist-craftsman of the 20th century. The letters of Yanagi and Leach, from 1912-1959, are an important record of the thinking of both men, as they exchange views on art and craft, religion and personal philosophy. The thoughts of Soetsu Yanagi and Bernard Leach on the role of crafts in modern life had influence world-wide, and retain their relevance and vitality today.
Paperback 431 pages.
Publisher Japan Folk Crafts Museum.
ISBN 9780981116136
Specialist DVDs
Warren Mackenzie, celebrated American potter, was apprenticed to Bernard Leach from 1949 to 1952. This hour-long documentry captures Mackenzie's return to his former workplace at the Leach Pottery, St Ives in 2013; his reflections, memories and encounters. It was here that he defined his philosophy as a potter and formed a lifelong friendship with Bernard Leach. Warren's honesty, warmth and humour shine through - a man who loves making pots.
Original footage of Bernard Leach and the Leach Pottery, St Ives in 1952 made by a local film group at the time has now been digitized and released on DVD by Marty Gross Productions. This 32 minute black and white film is presented with narration by Bernard Leach himself recorded in the 1960s and with an alternate narrative by Warren MacKenzie, who was an apprentice at the pottery during the time of its making, recorded in 2007. The package includes a 14 page booklet on the founding and history of the Leach Pottery, and a 17 minute film made by Warren Mackenzie at the Leach Pottery in 1952 with a telephone interview between MacKenzie and Marty Gross.