Simon Rich

For many years Simon Rich has been producing fine ceramics with his most distinctive glazes from his pottery in West Wales, UK.

Simon had such a strong interest in pottery at an early age that he started when fifteen years old, to teach the craft to his fellow pupils at school.

Upon leaving school, Simon looked for an outlet for his creative talents and joined the studio of the famous Alan Caiger-Smith at the Aldermarston Pottery. He remained there for five years before establishing himself with a series of exhibitions and shows.

Simon is primarily concerned with creating pleasing shapes and forms. He conjures up images in his mind and turns them over and over until they are ready to be brought into being. He likes to explore the full
potential of any one shape, developing it and endeavouring to expand on its creative potential as much as possible. He stops short of extremes, however, as his aim is to create pottery of classical and harmonious beauty.

Simon excels at many techniques including terrasigilata, copper fumed raku, turquoise and azurite glazes and crystalline glazes. In the latter, the zinc crystal glaze is applied to porcelain and is made by melting sand, soda ash, alumina, zinc and flint into a glass compound. It is then ground to a fine powder.Before glazing an exact amount is weighed out for each pot and metal oxides are then added to produce the
variety of colours that can be seen in the work. The firings vary according to the amount of colourant oxides and glaze adjustments. This produces constantly evolving glazes on the pieces making each one unique.

Work Generally Available from:
Oril y Felin, St.Davids, Wales
Nanty Coy Arts, Haverfordwest, Wales
Galeri Bews-y-coed, Ffordd Caergybi
Wave 7 Gallery, Port Isaac.
Pyramid Gallery, York
Ruby Orange, Lanarkshire
The Great Atlantic, Monmouth
Falmouth & St.Just
Lighthouse Gallery, Penzance
Gallerytop, Derbyshire
St. Davids Town Hall, Cardiff
Oriel Ceri Richards, Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea
Makers Guild, Cardiff
Mid Cornwall Gallery
Art Matters, Tenby
Oriel makers, Cardiff
Rhoson House, St. Davids
Rooksmoor, Bath
Waterfront, Milfordhaven
3D, Bristol
Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
Waterperry House gallery, Oxford
Model house, Llantrysant
Black swan guild, Frome
Coombe Farm, Dartmouth
Coombe studio, Dartmouth
Seagrove
Colby Lodge, Amroth
Bircham, Norfolk
St Ives Gallery, Cornwall

Technical Information: 
Gas and electic kilns. Raku 1000-1050 c.
Stoneware and crystalline 1265c
Barium carbonate, zinc crystalline, and lustre and on glaze enamels glazes

Background Information:
Oct 2003 at Union, Grantham
April 2004 at Water Front, Milfordhaven.

Catherine Rich

Catherine read English Literature at Bristol University before teaching for many years in Cambridge. During this time she also pursued and developed her love of the decorative arts, selling her own silk paintings and embroideries.

On meeting Simon Rich she began to apply this to ceramics, her particular interest being in lustre work. The pieces are painted using real gold and platinum and copper, and other lustres such as mother of pearl. They are fired four times in order to produce special effects. The clay is stoneware and a soft ivory crackle glaze is used. Her inspiration derives in part from the work of Gustav Klimt and from mystical symbols of the ancient world and the orient.

Catherine lives and works with husband Simon Rich, the potter, in South Pembrokeshire. She has two children.

Exhibitions:
With Jane Ray the artist at Primavera, Cambridge
³All Fired up² at the Montpellier Gallery, Stratford
The Christmas Exhibition, the Bluestone Gallery, Devizes.
With Kim Taylor the artist at Dick the Dog, Penzance.
The Ambiente exhibition, Tokyo, Japan.
The Waterfront Gallery,Milford Haven

Collections:
The collection Adolf Egner, European Ceramics since 1950, Koln, Germany.

Bryony Jane Megan Rich

E-mail: bryonyjrich@yahoo.co.uk

Brief description of work: I am currently producing matt lustre Raku  vases in two different sizes, and my more recent work is a combination of Terra sigillata and Raku using bismuth (gold) and copper glazes, on larger vessels with a twist. Also coloured stoneware on vases and bowls.

Occupation: Potter & Chef

1994-1996 Carmarthen & Llanelli CCTA College studying Art/fashion/textiles.
1997 Travelling around Thailand visiting silk painting workshops. Ceramics in the north around the Chang Mai and Chang Rai area. Historical art's and museum's. Ancient city¹s and Temples. Weaving, textile and art¹s in the Local Hill Tribes.
1998-2008 Working part time alongside my farther, in his gallery & workshop at Narberth Pottery.
1998-2004 Head chef & manager at Café Ole, Queens Hall, Narberth.
2004-2008 Seasonal Head chef & manager at Piston Castle restaurant.
2004-2008 Proprietor and Owner of Maker Guest house, Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka.

Exhibitions: Oct 2003 at Union, Grantham.
April 2004 at Water Front, Milfordhaven.
Galleries I am currently supplying: Art in Action, Water perry, Oxford.
Oril y Felin, St.Davids.
Nanty Coy Arts, Haverfordwest.
Galeri Bews-y-coed, Ffordd Caergybi.
Pyramind,Gallery, York.
Wave 7 Gallery, Port Isaac.
Fowey River, Cornwall.
Ruby Orange, Lanarkshire.
The Great Atlantic, Monmouth & Falmouth.
Lighthouse Gallery, Penzance.
The Derek Topp Gallery, Derbyshire.
St. Davids Town Hall, Cardif
Oreil Ceri Richards, Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea.
3D,Bristol.
Bluecoat displycentre,Liverpool.
Waterperry,Oxford.
Model house, Llantrysant.
Mid Cormawll, Galleries
Coombe Farm,Dartmouth
Coombe studio,Dartmouth
Seagrove