Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, until 17 September 2005

Detail - one in a set of three pieces by Lorna Fraser, inspired by Aloe saponaria in the Arid House at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

‘CLAY IN BLOOM’ celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Scottish Potters Association and brings together the work of 18 ceramicists living and working in Scotland.

The central theme of the show draws its inspiration from the natural world of plants. Just as “a seed needs earth, water, air and sun”…[the] “potter uses the same elements…to make ideas grow and bloom.”

Within the exhibition there are many interpretations inspired directly by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Whilst the content is engaging and there are many beautiful pieces to enjoy, the exhibition is marred by the problem of display.

Once again our central exhibition space is not up to the job! Greeted by fragile stickers and a locked door, I braved the small first floor gallery at the Museum, gingerly stepping around the pieces displayed mostly on large circular plinths.

My advice is to go and ask for the key to see this exhibition, and then go straight to your local councillor and demand to know why there is no suitable exhibition space to view local or touring shows in our city!

No amount of renovation of the current site can disguise the need for this. Both the local and visiting public deserve a decent space to view art works of all kinds. Presenting any exhibition, particularly of Scottish artists, in this way displays a lack of respect for the artists and their craft, and a lack of civic pride in our own culture.

Nonetheless, as with so many other exhibitions in this venue, there is much to be enjoyed in spite of the surroundings. For me the most intriguing of the works explore the plant world through unique use of raw materials and glazes.

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The imprint of each branch or signature seems to seep into the crackled glazed aura around each twig.

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Miriam Reid’s ‘Life’s a Beech’ in the form of two interlocking seeds displays a stunning range of colour that appears to have been born out of fire. Burnished red, purple, orange, green and blue are subtly melded into the form, taking something seemingly small and bringing its beauty into focus in a sculptural way.

Julia Hilton’s ‘Tree Calligraphy’ derived from Scottish native trees is the graceful realisation of a simple idea, the signature of each tree. Inspired by the “tracery of winter branches of the silver birch”, Hilton has constructed a series of porcelain panels “reduction fired with white stoneware glaze, celadon and wood ash of each tree species in twig detail”.

The imprint of each branch or signature seems to seep into the crackled glazed aura around each twig. It is a striking effect in its simplicity, and oriental in style.

It is wonderful to see the beauty of nature is mirrored by the work of local artists in the exhibition. Carrbridge artist Alice Buttress has used molten glass to great effect in her circular series based on giant lily pads, flood plains and the dependence of plants (and all life) on water.

These well-like receptacles have outer rims that seem to suggest the journey of water through an arid environment, a stream and a pond. They form a lovely trio with the element of water at the core of their life cycle.

Nairn artist Veronica Newman has combined a display of autumn leaves made from unglazed porcelain with a series of elegant vases delicately rimmed and aptly titled ‘Now Blooms the Lily’.

Brian Cookshand’s three linked pieces are reminiscent of Art Nouveau in their decorative use of organic form and colour. ‘Winter jar, spring bowl and summer plate’ take their inspiration from the rhodedendrons in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. ‘Winter jar’ in particular is an excellent example of organic form realised in a decorative object.

Whether decorative or sculptural “Clay In Bloom” offers an interesting range of interpretations from the world of plants and is especially evocative through colour, texture and form.

© Georgina Coburn, 2005