Hundreds of people have joined a series of free workshops throughout the summer to decorate tiles that will decorate the new Leach Pottery learning and production centre.
The centre is set to open early next year and will host the extended pottery studio, as well as a learning centre where workshops and classes will be held.
More than 3,000 people attend classes and workshops at the Leach Pottery each year. Many take part in free community workshops for families and children, as well as courses for beginners and more experienced potters.
“The Leach Pottery has strong links to the local community, with events for schools, community groups, and families to explore the joy in making with clay,” said Ellen Love, head of learning and participation at the Leach Pottery.
“The new learning and production centre will be a hub for the local community, where people can come and enjoy free sessions, so it is only fitting to include their work in the building.”
The new centre will enable the pottery to increase the number of events, as well as expand the pottery studio where the team of potters make the Standard Ware range designed by Bernard Leach a century ago. The studio has an active apprenticeship scheme, which will expand.
The new centre is part of a two-year transformation of the Leach Pottery site at Higher Stennack, in St Ives, where it has stood for more than a century. The museum and exhibition spaces will undergo a refurbishment, with new displays throughout the rest of this year and next year.
