Greenwich Studios

Greenwich Studios, 19 Blackheath Road, Greenwich, London, 1960 – 65

The property was actually in Deptford, but Greenwich sounded much better. Deptford was eventually absorbed into the Royal Borough of Greenwich, but not until 1965.

There was large shop with several floors above, a basement, a yard and a complex of buildings. Alan rented space to Bernard Rooke, Sheila and Robert Fournier, amongst other artists.

He installed a number of electric kilns for firing tiles and commissioned a new larger hotter gas fired kiln which allowed forms of up to 36 inches high to be fired. He experimented with clays and finishes including the frequent usage of a coarse fireclay with many impurities. These burnt off in the kiln producing a reduced oxygen firing. Previously unseen glaze effects came at the cost of acrid fumes. Alan made architectural forms, gaining commissions from a prestigious London restaurant. Orders for tiles continued and Alan developed a range of small to medium simple forms. He took on his first full time assistants to rough out the pots as demand was continually growing and tile production was increasing too. Formers made from clay allowed for assistants to help with the decoration. From this time onwards, the ‘W’ mark denotes assistant formed work which Alan usually decored. ‘AW’ became the mark for pieces made solely by Alan, a few of these are dated.

The Craftsman Potters Association and in particular Heals of Tottenham Court Road, led the high demand for Alan’s new work, with ‘Totemic’ designs remaining popular. Alan had as many as fourteen assistants at any given time. One of note was Louis Hudson who later produced his own work in the West Country.

Alan was approached by Henry Rothschild the leading patron and promoter of the 1950s studio pottery boom. Rothschild offered to bring Wallwork into his fold, and to promote his work in print, inviting Wallwork to exhibit at his gallery, Primavera, in fashionable Chelsea. However the proposition came with the stipulation that Alan would cease to sell his own work within twenty-five miles of London. The free spirited Wallwork declined as he was already reasonably successful and it was important for him to remain self-determining. As a child Alan had admired the ethics of freedom and equality exhorted by the anarcho-syndicalists of the Spanish Civil War, although he did acknowledged that their failure was probably inevitable due to a lack of coherent organisation.

Alan’s work was included in Design Centre Exhibitions across Europe and North America. Connections made via Heals led to Alan exhibiting in Copenhagen.

The advertising agency J. Walter Thompson asked for designs incorporating Alan’s tiles to promote OXO stock cubes. A teak casserole stand, a simple wooden board with two tiles, was decided upon and this turned out to be a great success. This commission proved to be problematic during production as the wood was prone to warping and breaking the tiles. The teak was replaced with the more stable wood iroko and the problem was solved.

The following images are from a major exhibition at the “Illums Bolgus” in Copenhagen (mid 1960’s). This was one of several exhibitions in Europe and the USA facilitated by The Design Centre.

Here follows a selection of work produced at the Greenwich Studios

• Warrior Form

  

• Large Oblong Form

  

• Disc Form

  

• Huge Totemic Lamp Base

  

• Totemic Cylinders

  

• Large Shield Form

  

• Tall Grooved Oval Form

  

• Large Oblong Form

  

• Standing Stone 'Female' Form

  

• Disc Form

  

• Huge Lamp Base

  

• Tall Lamp Base

  

• Tall Three Sided Form

  

• Female Oval Form

  

• Oval Pot

  

• Pebble Form

  

• Pebble Form

  

• Ovoid Form (Porcelain)

  

• Totemic Cylinder

  

• Spiral Oblong

  

• Oblong Form

  

• Square Form

  

• Stoneware Tile

  

• Stoneware Tile

  

• Stoneware Tile

  

• Stoneware Tile

  

• Stoneware Tile

  

• Pebble Form

  

• Tiled 'Casserole' Stand

  

• Grooved Shield Oval

  

• Pebble Form

  

• Standing Stone

  

• Standing Stone Form

  

• Tool Form

  

• Grooved Oval

  

• Axe Head Form

  

• Lamp Base

  

• Tapered Grooved Cylinder

  

• Lamp Base

  

• Oval Form

  

• Tool Lamp Base

  

• Pebble Form

  

• Oblong Form

  

• Totemic Cylinder

  

• Grooved Oval

  

• Lamp Base

  

• Pressed Dish

  

• Pressed Dish

  

• Rectangular Form

  

• Standing Stone Form

  

• Lamp Base

  

• Radiant Oval

  

• Standing Stone Form

  

• Warrior Form

  

• Tool Form

  

• Oval Form

  

• Nodule Form

  

• Tapered Cylinder

  

• Pebble Form

  

• Standing Stone Form

  

• Oblong Form

  

• Lamp Base

  

• Oblong Form

  

• Oblong Form

  

• Oblong Form

  

• Grooved Oval Form

  

• Grooved Torso Lamp Base

  

• Tapered Lamp Base

  

• Spiked Form