John Reeve (potter)

John Reeve (30 November 1929 – 29 June 2012) was a Canadian studio potter.[1][2]

John Reeve
Born(1929-11-30)30 November 1929
Barrie, Ontario
Died29 June 2012(2012-06-29) (aged 82)
Abiquiú, New Mexico
Occupation(s)Artist, Potter and Teacher

Biography

He grew up in Barrie Ontario, beginning his working life in his father's jewellery store, where he was expected to take on the business. He married Joyce Elliott in 1952, and their first child was born in 1954.[2]

Workshop in the Leach Pottery, St. Ives, Cornwall
Interior of the Leach Pottery, St. Ives, Cornwall

Education and apprenticeship

John Reeve attended Vancouver School of Art between 1954 and 1956, studying drawing and ceramics. After his studies he travelled in Mexico before returning to Canada to open a pottery in Orillia, Ontario. The following year, he moved to England and took several ceramics courses, including Wenford Bridge pottery.[3] Reeve apprenticed with Bernard Leach at his pottery in St Ives from 1958 until 1961.[2] Other potters followed from Vancouver, beginning with Glenn Lewis, who he encouraged to apply.[4] Apprentices made standard ware under supervision and eventually more experimental pieces in their spare time, reviewed in criticism sessions.[5] In 1960, Reeve married his second wife, Donna Balma, later an artist known for visionary paintings based in British Columbia.[6]

Early and mid-career
Longlands, at Hennock in Dartmoor
Longlands, at Hennock in Dartmoor, (building with tall chimneys).

He returned to Canada in 1961, teaching at University of British Columbia. Reeve gained the attention of architect Ron Thom, who commissioned him to make ceramics as part of the plan for Massey College.[7] At around this time, he also met Warren Mackenzie and they became lifelong friends. Reeve would often work alongside him in his pottery in Stillwater, Minnesota.[8] Mackenzie has said of Reeve, "We shared the idea that pots should be made easily and quickly; they should not be elaborate things. We didn't have to explain ourselves to one another. He was my best double."[9] In 1963, he returned to the Leach pottery to make large standard ware pieces, and continued teaching, at Farnham College of Art in Surrey. In 1966, with the aid of a Canada Council Senior Arts Fellowship, he bought a farm named Longlands on Dartmoor, with Glenn Lewis and Warren Mackenzie. They established the Longlands pottery which continued to operate until 1972.[10]

He was Studio Manager at the Bernard Leach pottery from 1973 to 1974.

Later career and philosophy
Chrome Oxide, an important (and potentially dangerous) element in the recipe for Reeve Green.
Chrome Oxide, used in Reeve's Green glaze.[11]

From 1974, he worked and travelled across Canada and the United States. He became well known as a teacher through University courses, his workshops and as a visiting artist.[12] About his approach, he wrote: "I'm not really interested in committing novelties on the world, but only making objects that have some hidden magic to them, which are good objects to use and therefore might make it better to drink coffee."[13] This aim of making good objects for everyday use has been said to reflect the influence of Zen on his work, through his apprenticeship to Leach, and appreciation of the writings of Jack Kerouac and the philosopher D. T. Suzuki.[14] He self-published two influential books on ceramic glazes: Book One: A Potter's Way to Understand Glazes and The Potter's Raw Materials, Some of their Characteristics and Compositions.[6] Reeve also developed an innovative method for making porcelain in a studio pottery. He published this in "Some Notes on Porcelain", later republished in Pottery Quarterly (UK) and New Zealand Potter. "More Notes on Porcelain" followed in the journal Studio Pottery.[15][16] Reeve's porcelain and Reeve's Green are well known to studio potters.[17][18]

In 1992, he was a founding member of Santa Fe Clay, a pottery studio supplying ceramics to retail, which also runs a gallery and workshop program.[19] He married his third wife Phylis Blair in 1996. In his later years, he continued to teach workshops at Santa Fe Clay, for example: "Jam-pots, garlic pigs, egg-bakers and other objects of delight".[20] He also had a home studio in Abiquiú. In 2004, his work was part of a well-received major retrospective exhibition of West Coast potters, containing more than 700 pieces, shown at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery.[21][22] Reeve contributed to a book of the same title published in 2011 and participated in its launch alongside Glenn Lewis, held at a gallery on Granville Island.[7][23]

Exhibitions and public collections
Vancouver Art Gallery seen from the plaza, with a banner to promote the Modern in the Making exhibition.
Vancouver Art Gallery, during Modern in the Making

A non-exhaustive list of exhibitions, and museums which hold his work:

  • 1960s show at Primavera Gallery, London, United Kingdom[24]
  • 1972: Solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.[12]
  • 2004: Thrown: Influences and Intentions of West Coast Potters, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver
  • 2013: Connections: Canadian and British Studio Ceramics, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario[25]
  • 2017: John Reeve: Some Hidden Magic Northern Clay Center, Vancouver[26]
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery

Potteries
Santa Fe Railyard watertower in 2013 (Santa Fe Clay's red banner is bottom right)

Some of the potteries John Reeve owned, or worked at.

Recognition

Published works

Books
  • 1979: Book One : A Potter's Way to Understand Glazes[34]
  • The Potter's Raw Materials, Some of their Characteristics and Compositions
  • Thrown: British Columbia’s Apprentices of Bernard Leach and their Contemporaries.[13]

Articles
  • 1975: The Potters Wheel. Ceramic Review - No. 33 (May / Jun 1975)
  • 1975: Some Notes on Porcelain. (three part article) Tactile. Canadian Guild of Potters
    • Notes on Porcelain, Part 1: Miracle of Reality, Pottery Quarterly, Vol. 11, No., 43 (1975)
    • Notes on Porcelain, Part 2: The Body, Pottery Quarterly, Vol. 11, No., 44 (1975)
  • 1978: More Notes on Porcelain. Studio Potter, Vol. 6 No. 2 (January 1978)

See also

References
  1. Lambley, Alex (October 2014). "John Reeve: The Unknown Craftsman" (PDF). BC Potters. 50 (8): 4–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-17 – via Potters Guild of British Columbia.
  2. Vaillant, Nora (2017). Coleman, Elizabeth (ed.). John Reeve: Some Hidden Magic. Vancouver: Northern Clay Center. p. 40. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  3. Vaillant, Nora (2017). Coleman, Elizabeth (ed.). John Reeve: Some Kind of Magic. Minneapolis: Northern Clay Center. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  4. Amos, Robert (2014-01-26). "Potter puts the performance in art". Victoria Times Colonist. Archived from the original on 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  5. Hanssen Pigott, Gwyn (1991). "Autobiographical Notes | Studio Potter". Studio Potter. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  6. Reeve, John; Balma, Donna. John Reeve and Donna Balma fonds. MemoryBC. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  7. Weder, Adele (2011-08-11). "'Thrown': Respect for the Ordinary Pot". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  8. "Kindred Spirits at Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA". Modern Magazine. 2017-09-19. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  9. Vaillant, Nora (2017). Coleman, Elizabeth (ed.). "John Reeve: Some Hidden Magic by Northern Clay Center". Issuu. Northern Clay Center. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  10. John Reeve and Donna Balma fonds. 2010-12-18. Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2022-02-01. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  11. "Reeves Green". Glazy. Archived from the original on 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  12. Vaillant, Nora (2002). Bernard Leach and British Columbian pottery : an historical ethnography of a taste culture. University of British Columbia (Thesis). p. 16-17. doi:10.14288/1.0099660.
  13. Thrown : British Columbia's apprentices of Bernard Leach and their contemporaries. Glenn Allison, Jana Tyner, Scott Watson, Naomi Sawada, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Vancouver: Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia. 2009. ISBN 978-0-88865-803-6. OCLC 318230985.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. Vaillant, Nora. "Nora Vaillant | "On the Road with John Reeve" - North-West Ceramics Foundation". North-West Ceramics Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  15. "John Reeve - Artists - Lucy Lacoste Gallery". www.lucylacoste.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  16. Reeve, John (January 1978). "More Notes on Porcelain". Studio Potter. 16: 2. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  17. "Recent "Reeve" posts on Glazy". glazy.org. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  18. Britt, John (2004). The complete guide to high-fire glazes : glazing & firing at cone 10 (1st ed.). New York: Lark Books. p. 103. ISBN 1-57990-425-4. OCLC 54111405.
  19. "Santa Fe Clay - Pottery Workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico". YouTube. Santa Fe Creative Tourism. 20 Nov 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  20. "Santa Fe Clay: Spring Workshops". 2002-11-20. Archived from the original on 2002-11-20. Retrieved 2022-07-21. Throughout history, potters have made pieces which are decorative, humorous, charming and entertaining without loosing [sic] their function in storing and serving food. These are not ornamental art pieces but functional wares with some extra qualities which enhance their use. This two day hands-on workshop will concern itself with thinking about, designing, and making functional pieces with that something extra to enhance the rituals of eating. John Reeve, a well-known Canadian potter, has lived in New Mexico for 16 years. He worked and taught in Canada, England and the USA for many years and has done more workshops than he can remember. In the 50's he was apprenticed to Bernard Leach in St. Ives, Cornwall.
  21. Higgs, Matthew (December 2004). "Matthew Higgs". Artforum. Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  22. "THROWN: Influences and Intentions of West Coast Ceramics". Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-01-11. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  23. "20110526-040". Flickr. Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 2022-01-29. Book launch and signing of 'Thrown:British Columbia's Apprentices of Bernard Leach and Their Contemporaries' on May 26th from 6:00 - 7:00pm at the Gallery of BC Ceramics on Granville Island.
  24. Vaillant, Nora (2017). Coleman, Elizabeth (ed.). John Reeve: Some Kind of Magic. Minneapolis: Northern Clay Center. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  25. "Connections: Canadian And British Studio Ceramics" (PDF). www.gardinermuseum.on.ca. Gardiner Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  26. "John Reeve: Some Hidden Magic - Northern Clay Center". Northern Clay Center. 20 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  27. "Modern in the Making: Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia". Vancouver Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  28. "Belkin Art Gallery Collections Management System : Individual : John Reeve [0003951]". collection.belkin.ubc.ca. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  29. Vaillant, Nora (2017). Coleman, Elizabeth (ed.). John Reeve: Some Kind of Magic. Minneapolis: Northern Clay Center. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  30. "Collection Online | Museum of Anthropology at UBC : Search person : Reeve, John (1929 - 2012)". Museum of Anthropology. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  31. "Collections Search | York Museums Trust". www.yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  32. "Bristol City Council : Museum Collections". Bristol's Free Museum's and Historic Houses. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29.
  33. Lambley, Alex (October 2014). "John Reeve: The Unknown Craftsman" (PDF). BC Potters. 50 (8): 4–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-01-17 – via Potters Guild of British Columbia.
  34. Reeve, John (1979). A potter's way to understand glazes. OCLC 11506205.
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