SILENCED TOMBSTONES

Highgate

Tombstones covered in ivy or damaged by weather become lovelier in their shape, posture, colour and texture. Some inscriptions peep out from ivy fronds; some stones have been completely suffocated by plant growth.

ABSTRACT PAINTING IN THE STREETS OF EDINBURGH

 

A prosperous society renews everything quickly, so there are few old things left in public places, and old things are given the heritage treatment, which makes them brand old instead of brand new. Occasionally, in neglected corners, old things remain, like these weathered signs I saw in Edinburgh.

AN OLD POSTCARD OF STOKE ON TRENT

Writing about Wedgwood reminded me of the postcards that you used to get in the North Staffordshire Potteries  showing the town enveloped in smoke from bottle ovens, with ironic captions like, "Fresh air from the Potteries" and "Beautiful My Country".

"POTTERY: FOR USE AND ORNAMENT." AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA ARTICLE FROM THE 1920s

This is where it all started for me: an article in Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia.  It was my father's, and on rainy days in the school holidays I would browse in it. The encyclopaedia was published by Lord Northcliffe, the newspaper magnate who founded the Daily Mail, and was edited by John Hammerton. It first came out as a fortnightly serial, then in a twelve-volume edition in 1922.  There were articles about First World War soldiers, with stiff studio photos, colour plates showing flags of all nations, philosophical essays on Aristotle and Plato, and this article, Pottery: For Use and Ornament, written by H.Barnard and E.G.Harmer.

HARROW CERAMICS FINAL DEGREE SHOW

Claire Cuneen: Angel.  To be auctioned for the last Harrow ceramics degree show

The Harrow ceramics course at Westminster University closes this year, 50 years after ceramics teaching started there.  The fact that something is old is no reason to keep it, but the Harrow course is widely recognised as one of the best in Britain.  To raise funds for the final graduation show, there is an auction in London on Wednesday, 14th March, upstairs at the Slug and Lettuce, 1 Islington Green, London, N1 2HX.  You can browse from 6.30pm.  The auction starts at 8.00pm.

WEDGWOOD'S "BUTTERFLY BLOOM" AND SUBVERSIVE DESIGN

Plates from Wedgwood's "Butterfly Bloom" range

Wedgwood's current design Butterfly Bloom illustrates the constant trade between artists and industry, the studio and the factory, that takes place in ceramics.