Wirral Arts: Pottery exhibition opens

Feb 20 2013 by Linda Foo Guest, Heswall News

A BROAD spectrum of talent from pottery enthusiasts is being displayed in an exhibition in Wirral.

Wonderful creations have been made by the hands of 18 budding potters who attend classes to learn about the art.

Many of whom were beginners and had never made anything from clay before.

Now their work is on display in an exhibition called ‘Potty about Pottery’ at Rathbone Studio in Birkenhead, where the classes were held.

Owner of the Rathbone Studio, Janet Holmes said: “The wonderful motivation for me after 30 years as a tutor is seeing the students blossom and start producing such amazing pieces.

“The pottery sessions have become a haven for people to escape the pressures of day to day life, and find such pleasure in creating their own artwork.

“There will be a wide variety of their work on show – bowls, jugs, sculptural pieces, as well as vases and bowls made on the potters wheel.

“They use many different types of clay and have progressed to create more advance pieces. It is brilliant to see the diversity of what they have created.

“Classes are ongoing with beginners coming and finding what interests them and having fun.

“I believe we still have a childhood yearning to place our hands into different textures and only ceramics offers this.

“The course has been so successful that there is a waiting list to join, so the level of interest is high.”

The pottery workshops have been running since the studio opened last May, on the site of the historic Della Robbia pottery.

The exhibition opens on Friday, February 22 from 3pm to 7pm. Visitors are welcome to come along and meet the students and talk about their work on display.

Janet will also offer a free ‘have a go’ session throughout the afternoon and evening.

‘Potty about Pottery’ continues until Saturday, April 13, open from Tuesday to Saturday, 3pm to 6pm.