Photographer Ben Boswell picked up a camera while still at school, and what started off as a hobby became a way of life. In the early 1980s his interest in crafts, especially in ceramics and pottery, paved the way to photographing some 30 of the most influential potters of that time. The catalogue of images, which is as beautiful as it is impressive, includes Phil Rogers – salt-glaze and reduced stoneware specialist whose work graces museums worldwide; David and Margaret Frith – husband and wife team amongst Britain’s most respected and world renowned potters; David Leach OBE – son of Bernard Leach ‘the father of British studio pottery’ – who subsequently managed ‘Leach Pottery’ and others as far afield as Japan. As is often the case, family life took precedence, and in 1982 Ben began selling professional photographic equipment. For almost 30 years his beloved ‘potters project’ was shelved. Now he has returned to the project with renewed enthusiasm, loves every minute, and is working on publishing a book too. Apart from his website which catalogues his extensive body of work, Ben now has a FB page, regularly updated with both current and catalogued images, providing fascinating and invaluable insight into potters and pottery alike.
FEATURED IMAGE:
David Leach Fluting a bowl during a demonstration at a craft camp in the late 1970s
By kind permission of Ben Boswell
Michael Minkoff Pottery 