richard_godfrey

Richard gained a degree in ceramics from Bristol Art College in 1972 and then taught for eight years before starting his first full time studio. He is a fellow of the CPA and he is well known internationally for his pioneering development of brightly coloured slips and his use of innovative construction techniques. His unique style makes his work highly collectable and he has pieces in major public and private collections around the world. He lectures and exhibits all over Europe and has been the subject of two television documentaries. He recently won the bronze award at the European Ceramics Competition in Athens, which was held to celebrate the opening of the 2004 Olympic Games.

The inspiration for my work comes mostly from the coastline and countryside around my studio. Ideas for forms are often derived from things that I pick up on the beach. Shells, bits of wood, plastic bottles, in fact just about anything. I walk a great deal and usually find things in the hedgerows to inspire me. I love natural forms like insects, seeds and berries. My studio is right on the cliffs here in south Devon, in a very unspoilt area. The light is wonderful and I find a great deal of intense colour throughout the year. I enjoy the changing seasons as each brings it’s own beauty. The sunrises in February are often spectacular; the wild flowers in May and June create great sweeps of colour across the cliffs, the berries and bramble leaves of autumn provide intense focal points. I take a lot of photographs, both slides and prints and often use these as source material from which to draw. The drawing process for me is a way of distilling the essence of what I have seen, looking for whatever it was that touched my button, in order that I might use it to touch someone else.

I live and work in an idyllic setting on the South Devon coast, with a studio overlooking the sea. The surrounding countryside and coastline are the main sources of inspiration for my work.
I have a large collection of found objects gleaned from the high tide line and I draw and photograph the coast extensively. I am also inspired by the patterns of colour and tone in the hedgerows and by smaller details like butterfly and moth wings, insects and wild flowers.
I find the chemistry of glazes and the infinite variations in forming techniques fascinating. I am constantly testing new material and techniques, driven by a need and desire to make new work, which is an expression of the joy and pleasure I get from living and working here in Devon.
Phenomenal and spectacular work - truly one of Europe's most popular potters. Devon based, Richard trained at Bristol college of Art. his work is a mixture of thrown and hand built forms constructed from white earthenware. The patterns depicted are inspired by details of nature and flotsam he finds on nearby beaches

I have always been fascinated by clay and its seemingly endless potential since I first went to an evening class in ceramics as a seventeen-year-old living in Gibraltar. At this time I was deeply involved in painting, producing large quantities of work and studying techniques and the work of contemporary artists. The colour and qualities of light found in the Mediterranean made a deep and lasting impression on me.

1966-68 'A' Levels - Gibraltar Grammar School
1968-69 Foundation Course - Plymouth College of Art
1969-72 BA Ceramics - Bristol College of Art
1973-81 Head of Art and Deputy Headmaster
Battisborough International School, Devon
1973-81 Part-time studio producing mostly traditional slipware
1981-89 First full time workshop - Yealmpton, Devon
1989 to date Moved to present workshop.

Craftsmen Potters Association Shop -Marshall St. London
Fenny Lodge Gallery - Fenny Stratford
Bristol Guild
Mid Cornwall Gallery - Par, Cornwall
Higher Street Gallery - Dartmouth, Devon
Rufford Craft Shop & Gallery - Nottingham
Artifex - Birmingham
West End Gallery – Wirksworth, Derbyshire
Juliet Gould – Mevagissy, Cornwall
Loes and Reinier – Deventer, Holland
Sable Five Gallery – Galveston, Texas U.S.A.
Marine House – Beer, Devon
Enid Lawson Gallery – Kensington, London
Toon Thijs Gallery – Nijmegen, Holland
Laburnum Ceramics – Yanwath, Penrith, Cumbria
The Glasshouse – York

May: Ceramics Festival - Gouda Holland; First Prize and Public Prize; Ceramics Festival – Krefeld, Germany; Frechen - Germany; Tea Time - Higher Street Gallery, Dartmouth; International Biennial of Ceramics Belgium; Channel 4 TV - Series of four programmes for "Collectors Lot"; Two Man Exhibition - Wilcox Gallery - Stratford; Earth and Fire - C.P.A.Festival, Rufford.

September: Keramisto '97 - Milsbeek, Holland; Atelier Cirkel - Brasschaat Belgium.

November: Curator of Contemporary European Ceramics Exhibition; Plymouth Arts Centre; Keramiekatelier - Ronny Seeuws – Blareveld, Belgium.

May: Celebration - Quay Arts - Isle of White; Sable Five Gallery - Texas U.S.A; International Potters Festival - Gouda, Holland; International Keramiek - Swalmen - Holland.

June: Artifex Gallery Solo Exhibition - Sutton Coalfield; Earth and Fire - C.P.A. Festival - Rufford .

September: Keramisto '98 - Milsbeek Holland; C.P.A. Fellows Exhibition Mid-Cornwall Gallery; Two Man Show - Juliet Gould Gallery, Mevagissy; Contemporary British Ceramics, Plymouth Arts Centre .

May: International Potters Festival - Gouda Holland; International Ceramics Biennial – Brussels, Belgium; International Keramiekbeurs –Arnhem, Holland

July: Juliet Gould – Mevagissy, Cornwall; Mid Cornwall Gallery - St. Blazey Gate, Cornwall.

August: International Potters Festival – Gmunden, Austria; Gifts from the Kiln - C.P.A. Fellows Exhibition; Metropole Arts Centre - Folkestone.

October: Solo Exhib. Gallery Toon Thijs – Nijmegen, Holland; Showcase Exhib.- Contemporary Ceramics, London; Two Man Exhibition - Fenny Lodge Gallery, Fenny Stratford; Group Exhibition Saltram House, Plymouth; C.P.A.Christmas Festival - Oxford.

April: Solo Exhibition - Gallery Stoelker – Enschede, Holland; “Country Lives” 20 minute Television programme about my work and sources of inspiration for Carlton Television.

May: Group Exhibition - Juliet Gould, Mevagissy, Cornwall; International Potters Festival - Gouda, Holland.

August: The National Ceramics Festival - Hatfield House; International Ceramics Festival - Gmunden, Austria.

September: C.P.A. Group Exhibition - Inspired and Fired , Metropole Arts Centre Folkestone.

October: C.P.A. Group Exhibition - Choices, Morley Gallery, London; C.P.A. Christmas Festival - Oxford.

November: Solo Exhibition and Masterclass - Contemporary Ceramics, Chagford Devon.

January: Showcase Exhibition - Loes and Reinier International Ceramics, Deventer, Holland.

May: International Potters Festival, Deissen, Germany; Verandah Gallery – Oxford.

July: The Snake In The Garden - Two Year International Touring Exhibition of Contemporary Slipware; Art in Action - Ceramics Demonstrator Oxford.

August: International Potters Festival - Gmunden,Austria; Workshop Leader - Die Werkschule fur Kunst und Kulturarbeit, Oldenburg, Germany.

September: The Two Richards – Two man exhibition, Tegelen Ceramics Museum Holland; Keramisto 2001 – Milsbeek, Holland.

October: C.P.A. Christmas Festival – St Edwards School Oxford; Teapot Exhibition - Ned Heywood Gallery - Chepstow; Showcase Exhibition – “Potters” Bristol.

May: British Potters – Krefeld, Germany; Curator – European Ceramics – Mid-Cornwall Galleries; Clayart – Denbigh, Wales.

June: Earth and Fire – Rufford, Nottinghamshire; Nouvelle Figuration Ceramique – Maison de la Ceramique, Giroussens, France.

July: Art in Action – Demonstrator, Ceramics; Potfest in the Park – Penrith, Cumbria.

September: Keramisto 2002 Milsbeek, Holland; Demonstrator - South Wales Potters Conference.

October: Oxford Studio Ceramics 2002 – St. Edwards Oxford; Demonstrator and exhibitor.

August: Art in Clay – National Ceramics Festival – Hatfield House; Potfest in the Park - Cumbria.

November: Surface Tension – Group Exhibition – Devon Guild of Craftsmen; Modern Collectibles – Olympia, London.

May: International Potters Festival – Diessen- Munich – Germany; Group Exhibition- Ceramics in Pairs-Triadtcasten Museum, Diessen, Germany; International Ceramics Festival - Swalmen – Holland; Guest Speaker and Demonstrator Braschatt – Belgium – “British Ceramics” – Group Exhibition

June: Earth and Fire –International Ceramics Festival, Rufford, Nottingham, England.

July: Bronze Award - 1st European Ceramics Competition, Athens, Greece; Potfest in the Park, Hutton in the Forest, Penrith, Cumbria.

August: “Slipware” Rufford Craft Centre Nottingham – Group Exhibition; National Ceramics Festival, Hatfield House, England; International Ceramics Festival – Gmunden – Austria.

October: C.P.A. Ceramics Fair, St Edwards, Oxford; Masterclass – Kent Potters Association.

November: Guest Speaker – Teachers Conference – N.E C., Birmingham, England. ; Lustre – Group Exhibition, Djanogly Arts Centre, Nottingham University; Southern Ceramics Festival - Farnham.

May: International Potters festival – Gouda, Holland; Clayart, Wales – Guest Speaker.

July: Art in Action – Waterperry House, Oxford, Demonstrator; Potfest in the Park – Penrith, Cumbria.

September: Atelier Cirkel – Antwerp, Belgium – Masterclass; Keramisto – International Potters Festival, Milsbeek Holland.

November: Lustre – Group Exhibition, Nottingham University; The 9th Pottery & Ceramics Show, Farham.

June: International Ceramics Exhibition – Swalmen, Holland; Earth and Fire – Rufford.

July: Art in Action - Waterperry House, Oxford – Demonstrator; Potfest in the Park – Hutton in the Forest

November: Southern Ceramics Show – Farnham; Chiltern and Decoram Potters Guild – Masterclass; “Lustre” Djanogly Arts Centre - Nottingham University.