David Leach

(http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73029408268094&mkt=en-US&lang=en-US&w=c494289c&FORM=CVRE5 4-10-08)LEACH POTTERY: 1930-1955DAVID LEACHborn Tokyo, Japan 1911STUDIED: North Staffs Technical College Stoke - on - Trent. David Leach, eldest son of Bernard Leach, is a potter of international reputation whose work is eagerly sought by collectors all over the world.He was born in Tokyo in 1911 and, after training, he worked with his father at the Leach Pottery, St. Ives, as student, manager and partner until 1956, apart from a short absence at Dartington. Then, in order to devote more time to his own creative instincts, he broke his ties with St. Ives and set up on his own at Lowerdown Pottery near Bovey Tracey, in Devon.David's pots include a range of reduced stoneware and porcelain domestic ware, but more recently he has tended to produce individual pots, many of them for commissions. A highly individual skill, much admired by other potters, is demonstrated in his finely fluted tea sets. He uses a gas-fired kiln, and has developed a special porcelain body of his own which is now widely used. His main glazes are celadon, tenmoku, and flecked dolomite, giving subdued greens, browns, blues, greys and an oatmeal colour. The decoration is generally carved or painted with deft and delicate strokes using iron, cobalt and other metallic oxides. David has exhibited internationally throughout his career.He has worked extensively in ceramics education and for crafts organisations and was involved in setting up both the Dartington Training Workshop and the Devon Guild's Riverside Mill Complex. He is a member of the Craft Potters Association, the Society of Designer Craftsmen and member and past Chairman of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. In 1967 he was awarded a Gold Medal by the International Academy of Ceramics.