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
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 both functional production and one-of-a-kind art
works, primarily in porcelain.
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.