Jug

Michael Casson’s work is deeply rooted in function and his forms derive from medieval European pottery. This thrown salt-glaze jug with pulled handle has a discrete pinched spout designed with function in mind. Although perhaps more fragile than a pronounced spout, Casson believes it will pour better. [1] His gestural vertical markings bring an elegance to this robust vernacular form.

Casson’s signature form is the thrown jug – a form he continually returned to throughout his career, making six basic variations. For Casson, the jug was both a usable vessel and a vessel with enough design variables to express the personal language of the maker. His approach of uniting functionality and expressiveness, creating both a strong physical and visual connection between the user and object, was, he believed, ‘a truly holistic approach to art’. [2]

Casson is a seminal figure in the British post-war studio ceramics movement. He reinvigorated the craft through his teaching and in 1963, together with Victor Margrie and Colin Pearson, he co-founded the first vocational studio pottery course at Harrow School of Art. In 1977 he presented the BBC TV series, The Craft of the Potter, which drew large and new audiences to ceramics.

Sim Panaser, June 2020

[1] Michael Casson Pottery Demonstration: The Pouring Lip, 1980, VHS recording, https://jiseys.wordpress.com/mick-casson-masterclass [accessed 11/05/20].

[2] Michael Casson, ‘Function and Expression’, Studio Potter, Volume 13 No. 2 (1985), 14-15 (p. 14).