Wood, pots, and pictures

Press, 26 November 1981, Page 11

Wood, pots, and pictures

Exhibitions at the C.S.A. Gallery, until November 30. Reviewed by David Brokenshire. „

Guild of Woodworkers Ex-

hibition: At the opening almost everybody ran their hands over many of the pieces. Timber has a wonderful tactile quality and each species has its own “grain picture.” The standard of this exhibition is a big improvement on last year's show but an even more rigorous selection would have been justified. There is a very wide range of work on display from simple turned bowls to complex cabinets and some superb chests. Almost without exception a high standard of craftsmanship and finish has been maintained. However weak design lets some of the work down. Scale, proportion, and the relation of parts to the whole needs constant attention.

A very appropriate use is made of rough sawn planks of timber to set the finished pieces on. This is an exhibition which should have a wide appeal. Pottery by Lawrence Ewing and Judith McMillan: These two potters are possibly the finest artists working in clay in Canterbury and

this exhibition fully displays their skill and control. There is a wide range from the small, sculptured “stones” with delightfully modelled heads inside to the vast lidded jars which in spite of their size seem almost to float. There is considerable subtlety in the glazing. It is an exhibition where skill, design and control over the firing has produced a collection of pots which individually will give pleasure for years. “As I See It,” photographs by Frank Simpson: This exhibition falls into two parts. First, colour studies of native flowers and various scenic views and, second, photographs of old buildings on the West Coast. No. 7, Ranunculus lyallii, is wonderful, exactly capturing the fragile beauty. But it is the photographs of the old buildings which held me. These are a great deal more than simply an exact record. They mysteriously convey much of the hardship and vigour of the days when these buildings housed our lusty ancestors.