Robin
Hopper is an
internationally known potter, teacher, author, garden designer and
arts activist. He has taught throughout Canada, and in England,
U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Japan and Israel. His
ceramic work is in public, corporate and private collections
throughout the world. He was born in England in 1939, and trained
there at Croydon College of Art (1956-1961). He has developed
studios in both England and Canada, where he immigrated in 1968.
After two years teaching in Toronto at Central Technical School, he
set up and headed the Ceramics and Glass Department at Georgian
College, Barrie, Ontario. In 1972 he resigned from teaching to
devote full energies to his work in ceramics. 1977 included
relocation to Victoria, B.C., Canada, and becoming the first
recipient of the Bronfman
Award,
Canada’s most prestigious annual award in the crafts. He is
an honourary member of NCECA. He is the author of
“The
Ceramic Spectrum”, “Functional
Pottery”,
“Staying
Alive”,
“Making
Marks”, a new
edition of Daniel Rhodes' "Clay
and Glazes for the Potter", and his autobiography,
“Robin
Hopper Ceramics”. For more information on his
books please go to the Books and Videos page. He has written many articles in
major international ceramics publications. He is the Founding
President Emeritus of the Metchosin International Summer School of the
Arts.
In 1993 he developed a
series of six educational videos on ceramic decoration processes
titled “Making
Marks”, based
on research material for a book of the same title. In 1994, a
second series of five videos on design and aesthetics was produced,
titled “Form
and Function”,
and based on his second book “Functional
Pottery”.
Since then he has made “Beginning
to Throw on the Potter's Wheel”, and “Advanced
Throwing”. The
videos and now DVDs are commercially available through
PotteryVideos.com or from our own showroom. Robin’s
work in ceramics over a 50 year period includes a great deal of
ceramic historical and technical research, and an ongoing studio
involvement with one-of-a-kind art works, primarily in porcelain
and now his new interest in the area of glaze
paintings.
Next to ceramics, good living and travel, his other life-long
passion is gardening, particularly the research into and love of
Oriental gardens. His “Anglojapanadian
Garden" at
’Chosin Pottery has been featured in books, several
television programs and many magazines.
Check out Robin’s blog.