JOHN trained as a sculptor and in the early 1960s he worked in mixed media, modelling figures in plaster combined with painted wooden elements.  Some pieces he and his wife Heather worked on together -  like these Mermaids which they sold to local crafts shops.

Bernard Leach was the catalyst for his move towards ceramics:  a discussion with him at his St Ives Pottery led to John’s apprenticeship with David Leach where he quickly learnt to throw domestic ware in the Leach tradition.  In 1964 he and Heather set up Stoneshill Pottery in Devon where he soon became more adventurous and imaginative in his designs, veering away from the practical.

The late ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s were fruitful times when John’s work was in constant demand by galleries in this country and abroad ~ notably Japan, Belgium, Germany and in Firenza Italy where he won the Gold Award at the International Exhibition of Ceramics in 1975.  In this period too he became fascinated by the use of enamels in his stoneware.  He studied the techniques of the C17th/18^th Japanese potter Ogata Kenzan who developed “the brightest reds and golds in ceramic history” and used this knowledge to great effect in his own work.

All the while he was working with clay, John continued to make playful automata and swinging-boats. His love of the sea and boats dominates his painted wood work. An enthusiastic sailor himself, he enjoyed the challenge of the elements and sailed out from the Devon coast whenever he had the opportunity. In his divas and suitors, grinning cats and fantastical birds, he loved to express the quirks of humanity that make us smile.

In 1996 John underwent major heart surgery which left him too weak to handle the large slabs of clay required to make the sculptural vessels.  Instead he started “playing about” as he said, sitting at the kitchen table with small lumps of clay. Under his responsive fingers these became angels, tigers, kings queens, birds and fish.  As he grew stronger, so did the scale of his sculptures which also became more diverse in imagery.

Another string to John’s bow was his dexterity in modelling beads of all shapes and sizes from clay and fashioning them into dramatic necklaces, some of them with bird or angel head pendants.

And finally, here are three mechanical toys that impressed John so much during his and Heather’s visit to Africa in 1994. He was invited by the South African Association of Potters to run workshops in Johannesburg, Capetown and Durban over a period of a month and became fascinated by the ingenuity of street children who, with entirely recycled materials, made these colourful working toys. They undoubtedly were the source of inspiration for some of his own models and as such have an intrinsic value of their own.

Adding to the richness of this TREASURES exhibition, are the striking monochrome paintings of TABBY BOOTH. These intriguing, stylised paintings reflect her love of wild creatures and folklore.  She and her printmaker husband James Heslip moved from a Thames houseboat to Cornwall five years ago, creating a coastal home full of colour, esoteric curios and random objects gathered from shore and woodland. Her collection here is based on birds, animals and insects specific to Cornwall.  Her observation and knowledge of these creatures allows her creative distortion of the images to accentuate rather than detract from their natural characteristics.  Appropriately presented in old frames and carved wooden bowls they hang in happy conjunction with the stoneware figurative sculpture of John Maltby.

NANCY PICKARD studied Ceramics at Cardiff University, where John Maltby was an influential visiting lecturer in the 1980s. A multi-disciplinary artist, she makes paintings and sculpture as well as the jewellery which incorporates ceramic, silver, enamelling and semi-precious stones.  Motifs within her work hark back to the symbols and runes of far distant times, as well as being peppered with references to fossils, crosses, plants and animals.  What entices her most is the magical transformation of materials and colour when subjected to heat and flame.

There is new work from REECE INGRAM in the sculpture garden ~ a magnificent Raven in Kilkenny stone, a dreaming badger in Ancaster stone and in the buttercup meadow nestle a carved oak ram and sheep.

In a week or so HELEN NOCK will be bringing her new sculptures and tables in slate to be shown around the gardens – so more pcs to follow of her work.

Meanwhile, further delights in the gallery include a collection of crepe-de-chine scarves by CRESSIDA BELL in luscious Bloomsbury-inspired designs and colours, and of course the well-illustrated book ‘JOHN MALTBY ~ A Life of Creativity’ which gives a rounded account of his life and work.

We look forward to seeing you at the gallery during the exhibition, or being in touch via our website. Gilly