Richard Phethean

A ceramics graduate of the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and further trained in the studio's of tutors Colin Pearson and Janice Tchalenko, Richard is an established professional potter whose work has been exhibited throughout the UK and can be found in collections internationally.  He is a Fellow of the Craft Potters Association, and is on the Crafts Council of Great Britain's Index of Selected Makers.

Following an interest in early English slipware, Richard began an ongoing exploration of the medium.  Using traditional slip-trailing and sgrafitto techniques, he spent two years developing ranges of honey and clear glazed tableware.  However, preoccupied with achieving greater depth and texture of surface, a more personal style began to evolve.  He brushed as opposed to dipping base colours  on the terra cotta, building up layers of thin slip washes.  Using paper resist and sponge-printed motifs, the decoration became geometric and analytical, the forms concave and stylised.

Two years spent working as a volunteer on a crafts project in the Papua New Guinea highlands 1985-87 had an overwhelming impact, both emotionally and politically.  This led to a radical reappraisal of his work as a craftsman, and marked a return to classical vessel forms. A looser decorative style was accompanied by a sombre palette, and a matt clear glaze.

In the mid nineties saw a move back to the essential spontaneity and warmth of domestic earthenware pottery. Slip brushwork became less formal, and Richard returned to the use of glossy glazes.

In 2001 Richard was offered a position as Resident Potter in an independent Quaker school,  where he was given the task of laying out and equipping a modern ceramics facility in a new building. The situation provided an good opportunity to take a new direction altogether, taking a long term break from domestic pottery production in order to follow a much more sculptural path with his work .

Richard's broad pottery teaching experience spans thirty years.  He is a visiting member of staff on the Harrow degree course as a module leader in throwing, and his speciality as a throwing tutor has attracted potters around the world for intensive training in his own studio.

Selected shows

Solo                                                                                                                                            

Anderson Gallery,1998-Bettles Gallery, 2000- Contemporary Ceramics,2001- Bettles Gallery 2004

Mixed
Alpha House Gallery, Amalgam, Anderson Gallery, Beatrice Royal Gallery, Black Swan Guild, Bluecoat Display Centre, Bettles Gallery, Clode Gallery, Collection Gallery, Contemporary Ceramics, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Hugo Barclay, Ladygate Gallery, Leicester City Gallery, Mid-Cornwall Galleries, New Ashgate Galleries, Open Eye Gallery, Oriel 31, Paddon and Paddon, Plymouth Arts Centre, Porticus, Rufford Craft Centre, Rye Art Gallery, Sanderson George and Peach, Terrace Gallery, Tolquhon Gallery, Walford Mill, Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
 

Ceramic Fairs

Ceramic Art London 2005/2006/2007, and a regular exhibitor at Earth and Fire, Rufford, Nottinghamshire, Oxford Studio Ceramics, Ceramics in the City

Retail Outlets
Contemporary Ceramics, Marshall Street, London, St. Ives Ceramics, Cornwall, Broadway Modern, Warwickshire and various occasional galleries nationwide.
Mail order - Please visit the gallery to view pots, and the mail order page to find out more details.

Publications
'The Complete Potter ~ Throwing'   Series Editor Emmanuel Cooper  (Batsford - ISBN 07134 66480)
'The Complete Practical Potter' By Josie Warshaw  - Throwing chapter by RP (Anness Publishing - ISBN 07548 01950)
'Ceramic Review' Featured in issue 169 pp36-41

VHS Video
'An Introduction to Throwing' - Designed to complement Richard's Batsford book, it is a live introduction to the fundamental techniques of clay preparation and throwing.

Seminars
Northern Potters Weekend
Scottish Potters Weekend
Potterycrafts
Museum of Mankind (Pottery in the Making)
East Anglian Potters
1999 Ceramics Symposium - Tel Hai, Israel                                                                                     

 South Wales Potter's 40th Anniversary Weekend

Chronology
2001            Took up 'Resident Potter' post at Sibford School, Oxfordshire
1999            Moved home and studio to The Leadenporch House, Deddington, U.K.
                    Established Phethean Studio Pottery Centre
1998            Commissioned to write 'Throwing' chapter for new book - 'Complete Practical Potter' by Anness Publishing
1994            Moved home and studio to Peckham, London SE15
                    Established Phethean School of Studio Pottery
1993            'Complete Potter - Throwing' published by Batsford books and release of self-produced video cassette - 'An Introduction to Throwing'
1992            SELECTED MAKER - Crafts Council Index
1988            Studio re-established in garden of new home - Herne Hill, London SE24
1990            SELECTED - Fellow Craft Potters Association
1985-87       VSO posting to Papua New Guinea as Business Development Officer at Eastern Highlands Cultural Centre - a crafts training project with pottery and textiles workshops, museum and shop.
1978            Established studio at 4011/12 workshops, London SW8
1977-78      Assistant and production thrower at Colin Pearson's studio - Aylesford, Kent. U.K.
1975-79      Occasional studio assistant to Janice Tchalenko
1977           Art Teacher's Diploma, Goldsmiths College, U.K.
1976            Ceramics Degree Show - Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, U.K.
1968            Visited Scott Marshall's pottery, St. Just, Cornwall - resolved to become a potter
1953            Born in South East London