Its Halls The Baugh Ceramic Gallery example essay topic

Pat Roborough Almost two years ago in 2001, Cecil Archibald Baugh called the Edna Manley Art School in Kingston Jamaica. And years from now, if the story is told properly, that call will be remembered as one of the most important that the 92 year-old internationally- acclaimed master potter made to the institution which he co-founded in the 1950's. For Baugh will make arrangements to handover his prized book collection which includes the works of Bernard Howell Leach, the British ceramist with whom he studied in 1948 while on a British Council Scholarship in the United Kingdom; So jhi Hamada, the celebrated Japanese potter and George Wingfield Digby. "I can think of no other reliable place with which to leave these books", he told Sunday last week.

There are lots of others of course- Baugh went worldwide in his quest for excellence - however Leach, Hamada and Digby (all deceased) stand out in the potter's memory, which when teased delivers a number of historic gems worthy of celebration. Point an enquiring finger at a photograph of Baugh standing erect in a fabulous blue business suit - the only black among a group of equally distinguished-looking men. You " ll instantly be rewarded with a brilliant smile and a lot of interesting information. "That's me, the only black man present at the launch of the Leach Legacy at the Tate Gallery, St Ives", he " ll say.

Located in SouthWest England, the Tate St Ives which manages the work of artist Barbara Hepworth was opened in 1993. It boast an impressive collection of modern and contemporary art including works by Baugh's idols Leach and Hamada. It's a great source of pride to him - Leach is to pottery and ceramics, what Bob Marley is to Reggae Music - and the perfect launching pad for the story of his growth from a humble "Yabb a Man" to the master artist who, among other achievements, was commissioned to make a bowl for Queen Elizabeth 11 by the government in 1953. Born on November 22, 1908, in Bangor Ridge, Portland to Isaac Baugh and Emma Cobra n - Baugh, he was educated at the Bangor Ridge All Age School before getting seriously into the art of pottery which he began to learn at age 17 as an assistant to two women who earned their living making pots using traditional pottery techniques. After a while he began to make water storage jars, bowls and a variety of other items for domestic use. By the time he was 28, he had established his own pottery in Montego Bay.

It was the perfect background for the success he was later to enjoy as a tutor at the Edna Manley Art school for 24 years, and the recipient of several awards including the Norman Manley Award for Excellence in 1977; the 1984 Kaiser Bauxite award for the development of the Egyptian blue haze in Jamaica and the 1984 Gold Musgrave award. He' the maker of the largest ceramic mural at the Bank of Jamaica and his name has been indelibly set down at the National Gallery of Jamaica which has named one of its halls the Baugh Ceramic Gallery. Now he's set to enjoy even more recognition - the New York Art Gallery wants to buy one of his pots- and several other art lovers are scrambling to own " a Baugh". The need to scramble is understandable for at 92 (he turns 93 in a few weeks) Baugh himself is acknowledging that his pottery making days are almost over.

"I've had enough. I've done my three score and ten. I still put a finger in now and then because you never really finish. You can't just stop like that.

You have to keep your finger in it until you say 'Amen'. But I have reached the end, that's why I'm passing on the books", he said. At least one of them won't go to the art school though. Angella Brown, one of his students will be the recipient of one of his favourite books, Digby's 1952 publication", The Work of the Modern Potter in England."This is a very important book. Few people have it. It's for Angella, my student", he said..