School of Art

Contact Details

School of Art
Aberystwyth University
Buarth Mawr
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 1NG

Tel: +44 (0)1970 622460

Fax: +44 (0)1970 622461

Email: artschool@aber.ac.uk

Display artist/maker:

Trefor Owen

Born: 1936, UK, England, London

Ceramicist. Born to Welsh-speaking parents in London, Owen was brought up in Prestatyn, Wales. He attended Wimbledon School of Art (1960-63) where he was taught by Richard Bateson, one of the last surviving country potters. After working in various potteries during the 1960s he became strongly influenced by the philosophy and work of the early studio potters, particularly Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew.

After leaving Wimbledon in 1964 Owen ran the Llangollen pottery for six months and then built his first wood-fired kiln at Felin Wen, Pontrug, Gwynedd. He taught pottery at Harrow School where he experimented with stoneware bodies and glazes. His first. workshop was in Shepherds Bush, London in 1969, which he shared with Terry Bell Hughes. He worked for Bryan Newman in south London before returning to Wales in 1970.

After relocating Owen established a workshop at Ymwlch, near Criccieth, Gwynedd where he made wood-fired stoneware (1970-73). At that time, he was influenced by early Chinese and Japanese pottery, especially Sung wares. In 1974 he moved to Maentwrog, Gwynedd and set up the Crochendy Twrog Pottery where he still lives, making wood-fired, reduced stoneware.

The early influences of Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada persist and are combined with Celtic art. He often uses wood-ash for glazes, utilising material taken from the surrounding countryside including pine, apple, rhododendron and birch. He is an honourary warden of a local nature reserve and wishes to convey his love of nature and the countryside in his work.

A founder member of the Guild of North Wales Potters, his work is in the collections of the National Museum of Wales. He was one of the first people whose work was acquired through a commission from the Arts Council of Wales for the Aberystwyth collection when it was re-established in the 1970s.

Objects in the collections associated with this artist/maker

[Storage Jar] C922 Ceramics



 
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