Former teacher fired up about clay sculptures

THE growing Oxford Sculptors Group begins its annual exhibition at Greys Court tomorrow (Saturday).

Now in its eighth year, Sculpture in the Garden will feature more than 150 sculptures by more than two dozen artists.

Potter Robin McClelland, a newcomer to the group, will be showing some of his hand-built clay pieces, which he describes as “stuff that has got no functional value whatsoever”.

Working with stoneware clay, Robin’s pieces include large, abstract sculptures from ship pots to girder shapes and blades.

The 76-year-old retired primary school teacher, who lives in Shillingford with his wife, Penny Astrop, a painter, says: “I only joined the group a few months ago and this will be my first exhibition.

“I started working with clay in my first year of teaching in Reading. I went up to a community centre in Whitley Wood and a wonderful lady there was teaching pottery and I just got into it immediately.

“I did evening classes for a long time and when I got my headship, I got a school in Oxfordshire which had a kiln, so I was able to do ceramics with kids and run courses for teachers.

“I was doing mostly throwing at that time but also some hand-building. I did some evening courses in Abingdon College with a great potter who encouraged me to make big sculptural, architectural pieces. That really got me more into hand-building.

“When I eventually retired, I set myself up so that I could get back into ceramics full-time.”

Robin’s creations fall into two categories.

He explains: “I make bottles and moon jars and flasks, sometimes fairly irregular-shaped ones. Then I make bigger sculptures, a lot of which are box girder forms, and these can either go inside or outside.

“I have developed a range of surface finishes that are increasingly deeply textured and tactile. They demand to be picked up and handled.

“As with all potters, the size is limited by the size of my kiln but I enjoy the sculptural side of it as it gives me a lot of pleasure.

“I’m particularly interested in texturing in ceramics, so my surface decoration is gritty and has got lots of bits of clay added to it and then slips and more glazes added on top so that the surface has considerable depth.

“Some of them, the big garden ones, are twisted girders. It’s the shape I describe as ‘blades’ that I’ve been focusing on recently.”

Inspiration can come from unusual places.

“My offer at the moment tends to be mostly black and white with some yellow there,” says Robin. “In fact those are colours I’ve used for quite a few years now

“The thing about clay is you get totally absorbed with it and are constantly experimenting with different clay types and adding different things to it.

“So for example, when I came back from Tenerife I brought back some of that black sand. I probably shouldn’t have.

“I’ve been using that, either mixing it with a clay or adding it to the surface and then just seeing what happens when it gets fired.

“What happens in the kiln is a bit of alchemy — you’re not quite sure what’s going to emerge and you can often be surprised when you open it up.”

Sculpture in the Garden has become known for the sizes of sculptures and the diverse selection of materials used.

This year, human figures, animals, themes from nature and pure abstracts will be on display, from small to very large sizes, in wood, metal, stone, ceramics, glass and more.

Featuring both indoor and outdoor displays, all the work will be available to buy with a part of the proceeds going to Greys Court.

Keith Appleby, chairman of Oxford Sculptors Group, says: “A highlight of the group’s calendar, this is a wonderful opportunity to show off the talents of our sculptors.

“Over the past nine years, we have contributed some £30,000 to the National Trust and have enjoyed a very productive relationship with Greys Court.”

Emily Hughes, visitor operations and experience manager at Greys Court, says: “The exhibition brings a new experience to the gardens, perfectly enhancing the beauty of the garden rooms in the walled garden and offering something different for visitors.”

l Sculpture in the Garden by the Oxford Sculptors Group is at Greys Court from tomorrow (Saturday) until Sunday, July 13 from 10am to 5pm daily. For more information, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk or www.oxfordsculptors.org