THROWN
British Columbia's Apprentices of Bernard Leach and Their Contemporaries

Published in 2009 following the groundbreaking 2004 exhibition at the Belkin Art Gallery, Thrown has become an essential reference for collectors, scholars, and enthusiasts of studio pottery. The book offers a rare historical and critical look at the development of West Coast ceramics, particularly within the Leach–Hamada tradition.

After studying at the Vancouver College of Art, the four potters travelled to St. Ives, Cornwall, to apprentice under Bernard Leach before returning to Vancouver, where their work became part of the vibrant and experimental art scene of the 1960s. Thrown tells the story of these artists, the material of clay, and the emergence of a significant movement in Canadian studio pottery.

Bringing together essays by curators, firsthand accounts from potters, archival documents, photographs, and personal letters, Thrown explores the work and legacy of seven influential potters active in Vancouver during the 1960s and 1970s.

The book includes a landmark interview with John Reeve by Naomi Sawada, an extensive catalogue of Reeve’s pottery marks, personal recollections by Mick Henry, Tam Irving, Glenn Lewis, and Ian Steele, and letters exchanged among the artists in the 1960s. It also features essays by Scott Watson, Lee Plested, and Nora Vaillant, along with reprints of important texts on Wayne Ngan and Charmian Johnson, and Soetsu Yanagi’s essay The Mystery of Beauty.

A comprehensive 50-page List of Works documents the exhibition with photographs of every table and shelf of displayed pottery, including details on dates, sizes, clays, and glazes used for each piece.

Filled with colour and black-and-white photographs, archival material, and personal correspondence, Thrown offers a compelling look at the artists and ideas that shaped West Coast ceramics.

*(Image #6~9: Photos of our past exhibitions featuring British Columbia's and Japanese pottery at ITSUMO 2025).