Alan Gaff Hugh MacTavish Pamela Gaff Nicola Lindsay Artists Statement

Alan Gaff

1979 - I was looking to go to Art Collage in Glasgow for a course in Ceramics when leaving Oban High School but after a summer job at Appin Pottery in 1978 I was fortunate enough to get an Apprenticeship through Craft Point (starting at the age of 17 in July of 1979) under the tuition of Joe Finch, proprietor of Appin Pottery including 6 months under Ray Finch M, B, E. (Joes` father) at Winchcombe Pottery (1980). Craft Points H,I,D,B, backed Apprentice scheme included block release for business studies, marketing, mould making, kiln building and many other courses. Set up Cottage Industries, a small business making and wholesaling press moulded wee houses it was a “cottage industry”, in the true sense as I had out workers producing the cottages, it was a lot of work to organise but good fun at the time.

1984 - I worked with Joe as his assistant for about a year then as he and his wife Trudi, decided to move to New Radnor in Wales, I managed Appin Pottery for him until they wanted to move to a larger place and so had to sell Appin in 1987 to realise this. Rather than move to Wales myself I decided to set up on my own and so we ended up just down the road here in Barcaldine.

1988-up to now.
Set up Argyll Pottery near Oban on the main A828 road to Fort William, employing two assistants, once in a while we have been known to take on the odd student part time for the summer months. We make mostly high fired domestic stoneware with some individual pieces including porcelain. The pots are mainly raw glazed and once fired in our 65cu, ft, down draught wood burning kiln to a temperature of 1300`C.
I some times also run pottery courses for locals in the winter. Throwing on the wheel, hand building, slab pots, sculpture and brushwork are included.
Some commissions undertaken, Occasional exhibitions, Member of the Scottish Potters Association since 1979 selected Fellow of the SPA in 1983 also member of The Guild of Master Craftsmen since 1990.

Hugh MacTavish

1984 - Started work at Appin Pottery as part time assistant, Saturday job and over the school holidays in the summer.

1985 - On leaving Oban High School at 16 years of age I became Apprentice at Appin Pottery with Alan Gaff through Craft Point Training Scheme including block release for mould making etc also including time at Winchcombe Pottery under Ray Finches` tuition and New Radnor with Joe Finch.

1988-up to now.
Started working for Alan as his assistant when he set up Argyll Pottery and have been working here throwing many of the pottery’s shapes mixing clay and glazes cutting and stacking wood for the kiln serving in the showroom and many other jobs that need to be done ever since. “One thing about working here is you won’t get bored!”from september 2008 he has been the main producer of the pots here and will continue to make usefull wares at affordable prices.

Pamela Gaff

1978-up to now.

Last but by no means least there is Pam, I put these dates in to have some thing to work from because being my mother I suppose she has always been there for me in one way or another. I do remember her waking me up and driving me the sixteen miles down the road from our house to and from Appin Pottery every morning and evening in the school holidays of the summer of 1978 and loads of other times she has helped out just because she could.

I asked Pam to come and work at Argyll Pottery full time in 1987 because she was perfect for the job. As someone who has set up and run several successful businesses, had experience in retail sales, wholesale, bookwork, computer skills, accounts, administration etc and knows` how my head works (most of the time), I realised quite what an asset she would be, I was right and then some!
With out giving her age away maybe it is enough to say that most people would have retired by now but Pam still comes in most days and helps out with the books etc.

Nicola Lindsay

1997 - This is when i started studying ceramics at Cardonald College in Glasgow & achieved a P/T Port Folio course, a N.C. & a H.N.C. in Ceramics & Sculpture.

2000 - I moved to London to study a H.N.D. in Combined Crafts which included: photography, metalwork,woodwork, ceramics & business skills.

2001 - After my time in London I was delighted to get accepted into The Glasgow School of Art to study a BA Honours Degree. It was a BA in Design & specialised in ceramics.

2005 - I graduated from The Art School & was seeking the vital work experience needed to obtain a career in this field.

Since graduating I have worked in a selection of pottery's; first on the Isle of Mull for three month's working to organise an exhibition for a private pottery, then in Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Co. Galway for one year in a busy publicly viewed pottery. These were very different types of work but great experience. Then in May of 2008 I came to Argyll Pottery to work & have been here since, as I appreciate & enjoy the work we make here & the friendships i have made.

Artist's Statement - Alan Gaff

I am often asked what am I influenced by, my answer is just about anything and everything but I suppose really the answer, being Apprenticed to Joe Finch is mostly the Appin, Winchcombe; Michael Cardew philosophy of making good pots that are fit for their purpose, affordable and hopefully nice to look at and use (although the usefulness of one or two of my pieces these days is a wee bit debatable). As I started out with the great history behind Joe and Ray (his fathers`) and their influence and could call on Appin Pottery’s vast range, based on the old British slipware traditional shapes, maybe I had somewhat of an advantage in comparison with say a Ceramics Art Student when I started out on my own, as I do not feel I have to change my shapes just for the sake of it, We use the old adage, “If it isn't broken don't fix it!”. We do change things in the range but only if we think it will look or work better, (evolution not revolution,) and as people come in with requests for things we do not make yet or a practical problem with a shape we have to create some new and innovative designs. Then there are times when I might come up with a shape just because I like the idea, our bird feeders are a good example based on a cross between a Celtic roundhouse and a Roman Gladiators` helmet, the first one I made was just a one off for outside my window of the workshop, now they are one of our best sellers! Then I was asked for a post mounted one and a Japanese Shinto Shrine came to mind. The wall mounted one is derived from the original hanging one but as it cannot swing away from the wind and rain, I thought to put in a drip hole the shape of a wasps` nest would work.

One of our other main influence’s is Japanese, Korean, and Chinese ceramics, long before the time of Bernard Leach and Hamada western potteries have taken on the shapes and colours of the eastern firings and glazes also we use Chinese calligraphy brushes for some of our decorating and our method of firing the kiln adds to the eastern appearance of some pieces, (and I just happen to like and respect their work). I also find ideas from nature and the culture of The Highlands and of our European heritage in general, the Celtic cross decoration and the Torque Vases are examples of this.

We fire our kiln with wood for three main reasons, firstly the numerous different affects the wood ash has on the pots never stops fascinating us, As the flames lick around the pots in the chamber at the high temperature we fire to, the ash deposits flux and make a warm toasty brown glaze on plain surfaces so where pots are near the flame they are blasted with ash and if another pot sits next to it, you may see its` shadow and as the pots get further from the flame they are affected progressively less making for more subtle shades of ash. It also affects the glazed pots. Some glazes like the ash more than others in fact some do not work at all in a gas, oil or electric kiln as they turn different colours, the Rutile Blue glaze is a perfect example of this as in the wood kiln it comes out a lovely colour shot with creamy white and spangles of light and dark blue glinting in the sun with purple shadows but if we put it in the wee test gas kiln it struggles not to come out a horrible mat porridge pink!

We do not like to fire for great long periods to get an enormous build up of ash on the pots, I see it as a little inefficient and often I have thought some pieces can come out looking unfortunately like someone with a heavy cold and no hanky has just been next to them. To me it’s just a part of the process, if other potters want to do that, that’s fine by me but when I first started we fired for 22-24 hours and quite frankly, like if you keep banging your head against a brick wall, its nice when you stop! We find that mixing the right blend of clay attracts more ash anyway, it is hard to say accurately but usually we fire for about 13-16 hours. (Once fired).

The second reason we use wood is that we feel we have really made the pots from start to finish unlike most modern kilns you cannot just switch it on and leave it to it, you have to stoke it and nurture it, rather like a steam engine you must know when to stoke or reduce the draw of the chimney. Atmospheric pressure, the wind and its direction, the rain or sun, thickness of wood, kind of wood, even different shaped pots packed in the chamber can change the way the kiln behaves, its` a challenge and we enjoy it.
The other reason we like to wood fire is that surprising as it may sound it is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to heat a kiln as long as you are using soft wood, during burning it only expels the CO2 it breathed in during its` life time and so it is better even than electric which may have been produced using fossil fuels or nuclear power.

There is of course the fact that it is the first and main way I have always fired as it’s the way my old boss taught me to fire a kiln, we got lots of chance to fire gas and electric kilns at Craft Point on block release when I was Apprenticed and there was salt firing in the little oil burning kiln with Ray and Toff Milway at Winchcombe but it sort of loses something, the pots just didn’t have that little bit of subtle magic the raw flame gives them, having said that I am really enjoying the purity of making translucent porcelain at the moment and for that I have to put these pots right in the middle of the stack or even resort to the wee gas kiln to stop the ash making them look dirty.

I suppose if you were to criticise my work you could say that most of my pieces are quite stayed and safe but I have always tried to make my work for those three harshest of critics, Alan and Mr and Mrs General Public, they do not suffer fools gladly. As we sell to a very wide range of folk straight off the road, the sign says POTTERY, that is what you expect and you may not always like our colours or style but with us pottery is usually what hopefully you get, well made, robust and functional pottery. (Apart from the ceramic motor bikes, the roe deer and horse sculptures, the skull night lights at Halloween, the wee animals, pottery pipes, kiln dragons, mushrooms, toadstools, wood mice, frogs, cones, tulip vases, lily forms etc). O, K, so if you bother to look you will probably find something different here, all you have to do is come and see.

Alan.