Ray Finch

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(27 November 1914 – 18 January 2012), formally Alfred Raymond Finch, was an English

studio potter Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur artists or artisans working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs. Typically, all stages of manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves.Emmanuel Cooper, ...

who worked at Winchcombe Pottery for a period spanning seventy-five years.

Biography

Early life

Finch was born in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, south London; the eldest child of Alfred William Finch, a commercial clerk, and Rose Ethell Tinniswood. Finch married Isabel Muriel Beesley, a teacher, in 1940. They had six sons, Anthony (born 1941), Nicholas (1942–1945), Peter (born 1944), Michael (born 1946), Joseph (born 1947), Paul (born 1949) and a daughter Marianne (born 1951).

Career

In 1926

Michael Cardew Michael Ambrose Cardew (1901–1983), was an English studio potter who worked in West Africa for twenty years. Early life Cardew was born in Wimbledon, London, the fourth child of Arthur Cardew, a civil servant, and Alexandra Kitchin, the elde ...

had founded Greet Potteries at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, where he made pottery in the English slipware tradition, functional and affordable, and fired in a traditional bottle kiln. In 1935 Finch came to Gloucestershire and asked Cardew whether he could join the pottery. Cardew advised him to get basic skills first, and Finch went to the Central School of Art and Design, where he studied under Dora Billington and was recruited by Cardew in 1936. Finch took over the pottery, now known as Winchcombe Pottery, in 1939. Finch was a deeply religious man, having converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, and during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

, working in the

National Fire Service The National Fire Service (NFS) was the single fire service created in Great Britain in 1941 during the Second World War; a separate National Fire Service (Northern Ireland) was created in 1942. The NFS was created in August 1941 by the amalga ...

. He restarted the pottery in 1946, and worked there until just before his death in 2012. Finch was interested in stoneware, and in 1952 he started experimenting with the more difficult clay. The experiments were eventually successful and in 1954 the bottle kiln was fired for the last time, since it was too large and unsuitable for stoneware. Slipware production continued by using electric kilns, but was phased out in 1964. In 1974 the wood fired kiln was built to replace the oil fired kiln for stoneware production and has been used ever since. When the

Craft Potters Association The Craft Potters Association (CPA) is an association of potters formed in 1958 in London. It has two wholly owned operating companies: Craftsmen Potters Trading Company Ltd and Ceramic Review Publishing Ltd. It owns a shop and gallery, the Con ...

's shop was opened in Carnaby street in 1960, Ray Finch's pottery was chosen for the opening exhibition. Finch championed the workshop apprenticeship system and under his direction, many potters spent valuable time there including Colin Pearson, Jim Malone, John Leach (Grandson of Bernard Leach) and Gwyn Hanssen Pigott (née John), and Peter Dick. Finch managed Winchcombe pottery until 1979 when his son, Michael took over the running of the business , but he continued potting until 2011. Mike Finch still runs Winchcombe Pottery and his brother Joe Finch runs his own pottery in Wales. Finch was appointed MBE in 1980 and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 at the International Ceramics Festival, Aberystwyth. Finch's work is represented in many collections of museums in Britain and overseas, including the V&A.

References

Books

*Ron Wheeler, Winchcombe Pottery - The Cardew-Finch Tradition, () *John Edgeler, Ray Finch Craftsman Potter of the Modern Age: A Collection of Essays and Contributions, () {{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Ray 1914 births 2012 deaths Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Streatham English conscientious objectors English potters English Roman Catholics