NLudd@AOL.COM on tue 12 sep 00
On Sun, 10 Sep 2000=20
Holly of East Bangor, PA, US wrote
>A cousin of mine recently married, and I just found out that her new=20
>husband's late uncle was a lifelong potter in England. His name was=20
>David Stamford Ballantyne, and he was at some point the Head of Ceramics=20
>at the Lansdowne School of Art in Bournemouth in the UK. I am curious if=20
>any of our UK members ever heard of him or if anyone knew him or his=20
>work. I wasn't able to find anything about that school on the web.
Dear Holly,
I knew David Ballantyne well, as one of his students (1971-1975) at what was=
=20
then Bournemouth & Poole College of Art, in Dorset, England. His tenure ther=
e=20
extended from the early fifties to around 1980, I believe.=20
I am forever in awe of him, not only as a much loved teacher and mentor but=20
as a most inspiring man. Potter, engineer, architect, calligrapher, sculptor=
,=20
draughtsman, designer... he mastered whatever he set out to do, and with=20
excellent craftsmanship. David was a passionate artist craftsman. He was=20
really the reason why I chose to study ceramics at Bournemouth. It was a=20
small department, even by English standards of the time.=20
He and fellow faculty member Peter Stoodley did a sterling job of running th=
e=20
ceramics course despite poor support from a succession of Principals who wer=
e=20
cool to pottery education and did not recognise the jewel in their midst. We=
=20
were the Cinderella department. I believe David more than once had to fight=20
to keep the course alive. =20
Of his extensive and varied range of work, including many commissions, I'm=20
fondest of his porcelain door furniture. A set would comprise a pair of=20
doorknobs, a pair of keyhole covers, and a pair of tile-like circular or ova=
l=20
disks (my fix-it-yourself manual calls them roses) that were mounted on the=20
door, covering the hole at the point where the spindle passed through the=20
wooden door. David built a small lathe to his own design so he could trim th=
e=20
previously thrown, now leatherhard doorknobs to close tolerances so that=20
well-fitting brass screws could firmly secure the hollow knob, at its=20
narrowest point, to the metal doorlatch spindle within the knob. Many of=20
these doorknobs he fluted or carved freehand. Once celadon-glazed and=20
installed in a good door, they were exquisite works of applied art, and cast=
=20
a spell into the room. For me, moving through David's house meant enjoying a=
=20
succession of touching visual and sensual pleasures of the most practical=20
kind!=20
He brought this kind of intelligence and lively attention to all sorts of=20
things in his work and his life. The two were as well married in him as he=20
was for many years to his beloved Katharine. Sadly, she did not long outlive=
=20
her husband.
David's magnanimity to his students went beyond the call of duty. A personal=
=20
example: When my father went ballistic on learning that his son, fresh out=20
of school, meant to be a potter, David wrote him an eloquent letter in his=20
characteristically beautiful italic hand, that won him over. It was typical=20
of David that he would do whatever he could for his students.=20
Neither will we ever forget his splendid sense of humor . It was never fa=
r=20
away when he was in the classroom. He was a wicked punster!=20
David was a man after the mould of the great Victorian artist-craftsman=20
William Morris, whose passionate liberal socialist convictions he shared. It=
=20
was Morris who founded the association that later became the Society of=20
Designer Craftsmen, of which David was an active officer and Fellow for many=
=20
years. All David's students at the end of the three year course were assesse=
d=20
for the B.A. equivalent College Diploma in Environmental Design - Ceramics=20
and - by an outside examiner - for licentiate membership of the Society of=20
Designer Craftsmen (LSD-C). If I recall aright the latter was harder to=20
achieve than the top grade of the diploma.
His longtime colleague Peter Stoodley probably knew David better than anyone=
=20
outside his immediate family. I would certainly try to reach him if I were=20
you, Holly.
As Steve Mills indicated, Ceramic Review ran Peter Stoodley's article on=20
David, with color plates of his work. I am not sure of the issue number or=20
year. The magazine's email and phone numbers are -=20
editorial@ceramicreview.com
(Caveat - I've known staff to take a long time to reply to email.) =20
Tel:020 7439 3377
Fax: 020 7287 9954
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=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97
An approach to the Society of Designer Craftsmen might be fruitful:
Society of Designer/Craftsmen
24 Rivington Street
London
EC2A 3DU England
Tel: 0171-739 3663
Fax: 0171-739 3663
email: richard@societydesignercraft.org.uk
I'd be happy and honored to be of more help, Holly. Please feel free to=20
contact me offlist. :-)
best wishes,
Ned
(in Chico, California)
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