Personal Details

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Biography

The following might be more interesting than what I make [ or maybe not ].

1993 heard about 1996 being designated Visual Arts Year in the Northern Region - began work on Potfest. The intention - to make Cumbria the ceramics centre of the UK.
1994 organised the first Potfest in the cattle market at Penrith - 100 potters mostly from the North
1995 second Potfest in the Pens - Penrith - 150 potters from all over the UK plus 2 from the Continent.
1996 [ Visual arts year ] organised a kiln building event at Upfront gallery with team leaders from Japan, Australia, Spain and the UK followed by the third Potfest in the Pens - now up to 200 potters.
Began the Potfest website.
1997 co-ordinated 7 potfest potters’ trip to a selling event in Maaseik, Belgium.
Fourth Potfest in the Pens now has potters from Holland, Belgium, Germany and France taking part.
International cyberspace competition introduced on the Potfest website.
1998 started Potfest Scotland with 100 potters in Perth cattle market
1999 working with Eden Arts millennium project to put community kilns and tile murals in the Eden Valley.
2000 invited to spend a month in Japan working towards a selling exhibition.
2001 started Potfest in the Park the week before the Pens to extend the ceramics festival to 10 days. The Park to be a show of excellence, over the next few years showing the work of potters from Australia, Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Holland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain and all over the UK.
2003 organised a week long fire festival at Upfront gallery in the week between the two Cumbrian Potfests, with 8 invited artists from Austria, Belgium and the UK building and firing ceramic sculptures on site and culminating in a a display of fire sculptures.
Collaborated with members of the Banko Ceramics Association in Japan and took 7 Potfest potters to Japan to demonstrate and exhibit work in a joint exhibition.
Produced the book, Potfest in the Pens x 10, to mark the 10th festival. The book containing the names of the 750 individual potters who had taken part to thar time with images of the work of around 80.
2004 organised free public workshops in various ceramic techniques at Newton Rigg College in the week between the two Potfests.
Began work on a kiln park for Cumbria at Newton Rigg - wood fired kilns built.
2005 free pottery classes for the public now incorporated into Potfest in the Pens.
2006 organised master classes in the week between the two Potfests using Park exhibitors as course leaders.
2007 worked for a time in Ban Chan pottery village near Luang Probang in Laos.
2008 trip to Montpelier ceramic film festival in southern France researching practicalities of including film in the future development of the Cumbrian festival.

Potfest in the Park at Hutton-in-the-Forest is now recognised as one of Europe’s premier ceramics festivals with 20% of the exhibitors coming from outside the UK each year. Potfest in the Pens is the only totally inclusive event in the UK. In the Northern tradition of fair play giving equal access to a market for any working potter. Places allocated on a strictly first come first served basis regardless of rank or reputation

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