We're pleased to present Ellie Woods' first solo show; the graduation exhibition celebrates Ellie’s three-year Apprenticeship at the Leach Pottery where, beginning as a novice with an interest in pottery, she has trained alongside the skilled potters of the Studio to learn the craft of making Leach Standard Ware.

An important element of her work is that it is made for use: “I like the intimacy of creating work that is going to be used, for example a mug for someone’s morning coffee” she says. The show is anticipated to include up to 100 new functional works by Ellie who explains:

“I am playing with slip underneath glazes to add texture and decoration to the pots. Some slips are watered down clay, others I have mixed from powdered clays and added colouring oxides. All with the hope of creating an individual style in combination with using the traditional Leach Studio glazes. I hope to include some wood-fired pots too.”

Ellie hails from Cumbria and after a Fine Art degree in Liverpool, focusing on photography and installation, she commenced her Apprenticeship at the Leach Pottery on 5 July 2021.

The Leach Pottery, opened in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, has a legacy of teaching and apprenticing potters. Today the Studio continues to make its trademark Standard Ware, recruiting Apprentices to help train the next generation of potters and continue the craft. The Studio’s potters also develop their own individual work which is regularly exhibited and sold in the Shop and Gallery.

The exhibition runs in the Leach Pottery Shop.
All works for sale.

Free admission; open Monday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm & Sunday, 11am - 4pm