David Leach was born in Tokyo, the eldest son of Bernard Leach. He began his training as a student at the Leach Pottery in St Ives in Cornwall, and later studied at North Stafford Technical College in Stoke on Trent. In 1956 he established Lowerdown Pottery at Bovey Tracey in Devon with his eldest son, John, making only slipware until 1961. David Leach produced porcelain and stoneware, both individual and domestic pieces, and was particularly known for the fluted shapes of his pieces. Most of his work was wheel thrown and has a systematic delicacy and lightness of touch. The pieces were decorated using a variety of techniques including combing, carving, and sgraffito, and his brush drawn decoration is a fastidiously English homage to Japan.

www.leachpottery.com

Glossary

  • Porcelain

    One of the three major types of pottery, the others being stoneware and earthenware. Porcelain is fired in the region of 1300ºC to produce a white vitrified and translucent body.

  • Sgraffito

    A layer of slip on a piece of pottery is scratched through to reveal a different colour clay or body beneath.

  • Stoneware

    One of the three major types of pottery, the others being earthenware and porcelain. A buff, gray or brown clay is mixed with other clays and ceramic materials to make a heavy, opaque, highly plastic clay body that is fired at a high temperature - above 1200ºC. It is in between earthenware and porcelain in its character. The term stoneware also refers to the clay body and objects made from it.