Last Thursday saw the annual opening of UCLAY, an exhibition bringing together work by current students and last year’s MA graduates, staff, visiting artists and alumni.
There was a superb collection of work and the show runs until 6th August.
Our own final year cohort occupy the mezzanine show cabinets.
This was my first idea but I swapped out one of the pieces on the right for my pineapple pot in the end. A fortuitous move, one visitor at the opening night mentioned how much he liked it, and echoed the sentiment that “it had legs”….which was a relief given my entire final show will follow this lead.
I am disappointed that I missed taking a photo of Cath Criscenti, Paula Canney and Marielle Hehir’s work. I must have got distracted…..no surprise there.
It is a lovely show and in my opinion demonstrates the talent being nurtured and grown at UCLAN.
For me Preston has a lifelong affiliation to pots. While some can relate recent television successes in the form of finalist Christine Cherry, and first ever winner, Matt Wilcock, from the Great Pottery Throwdown, my own happy memories are of my Mum taking me annually to Preston Pot Fair.
I don’t know how old it was before it ceased to be an event around 2009, but this photo (see link) dates back to 1908.
I loved the pot fair, the patter of the salesman, selling all the seconds from the big mass producers of dinner services. It was never studio ceramics, it was purely a sale of every day, mass produced, functional domesticware. The men would start with a large basket on the base lining the edge with dinner plates, then a smaller basket would be placed on top lined with salad plates, then side plates, bowls, cups and saucers, teapots, serving dishes all stacked in a tower. I would be fascinated, and my mum would invariably come hoe with a dinner service.
To conclude, taste is subjective but in my opinion, for want of a more hackneyed expression, UCLAY offers something for everyone.
It is being held at the PR1 Gallery, ground floor, Victoria Building, Victoria Street, Preston PR1 7HD, and runs until 6th August.
Visitors can park in the visitor car park on Victoria Street, opposite the building, or there are car parks nearer the city centre at St Mary’s, St George’s and Walker Street Car park, the latter being the closest.
