EELES FAMILY POTTERY EXHIBITION
Friday, 09 October, 2009

An exhibition of work by the Eeles Family Pottery will be on display at Wiltshire Heritage Museum from 3 to 30 October 2009.

The pottery, based in Dorset, was set up by David and Patricia Eeles in 1955 with their sons later joining the business. The family works as a team to produce a wide range of pottery using a variety of techniques and all individually decorated. They have exhibited at the Museum many times before and this exhibition will showcase a vast collection of pottery dishes, platters, vases, jars, cooking pots, cheese dishes and wine jars. Their work, which is very popular and has been exhibited at the V&A, has become highly collectable and will be for sale.

The pottery of stoneware, porcelain and Raku is made using simple ingredients from around the south west, including Dorset ball clay, Devon china clay and basalt from Somerset. Inspiration for the shapes and patterns of the pottery are drawn largely from nature with colours and glazes continually being developed as the family carry out many tests and experiments. The pottery is fired in wood fired kilns which have to reach a temperature of 1260oC. This requires a team of six to stoke the kiln continuously for 36 hours after which it takes four days for the kilns to cool. By contrast Raku, derived from a Japanese method of pottery, is fast fired and only requires a temperature of 1050oC! The pottery is taken out of the kiln at peak temperature and subjected to flaming and smoking to encapsulate the vibrant colours and lustres of this type of work.

Lisa Webb, Curator says ‘we are delighted to have the Eeles Family Pottery back at the Museum. beautifully decorated and inspired by nature, the pieces are a stunning display of locally made ceramics’.

The exhibition runs at the Museum daily from 3 to 30 October 2009. Usual admission charges apply.
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