The highlight of my week was visiting Enfield, on the northern outskirts of London. That's where the potter Steve Harrison lives. He works in a studio built in the garden. Before going through to it, I was served, in a Harrison family ritual, tea and cake, which is appropriate because Steve makes cups, bowls and teapots. On July 13, he'll mount a studio exhibition called ‘20 Teapots'. Each is part philosophy, part autobiography in clay.
* Subscribe to Country Life and save; Get the Ipad edition
The seed of the idea was sown in art school. If only I had space to explain the ramifications! Instead, let's fast-forward to a visit that Steve paid, 18 months ago, to the house of his former teacher, Tony Sims. There, he saw a slip-moulded teapot, of 18th-century shape, made as a prototype for Coalport that never went into production.
That teapot spoke to him-he had to have it. He made one like it on the wheel, but a turned teapot isn't fluted, so Steve devised an ingenious new technique by which one could be. The result was like the original, but finer. He's now made an edition of 20-azure, cream, brown, lustre, saltglaze, some with details in gold or silver leaf. Lucky is the purchaser of such a teapot: it won't simply be tea that's brewed in it, but a deeper attitude to life.
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
-
Dawn Chorus: A Blue Plaque for Marc Bolan, holidaying in the Caribbean with Francis Ford Coppola and a history of the National Gallery in 25 picturesPlus the best of the property pages, and how the railways will save the countryside.
-
Game, set, match: 12 of the world’s most beautiful tennis courtsFrom Italy to Indonesia, when it comes to hotel amenities, a picturesque tennis court will always trump a 24-hour gym. So, before you book your next holiday, take a look at our pick of the 12 best.
