I was forced to bid for this on ebay when I was teaching Britain Since 1930 and studying the work of Clarice Cliff. My class had explored her patterns and shapes, and designed their own tea service. Then we got onto the subject of being a collector. We thought about whether we would collect a particular pattern, such as crocus, or a shape, like a conical sugar sifter. We looked at ebay to investigate prices and it seemed only natural at this point to demonstrate the bidding process to my class. I set a limit and didn't win for a while, but then I won this spring crocus jug. Hooray! Collecting Clarice Cliff with Ms Corbett. I'm sure that qualifies as history, ICT, art, design technology, citizenship, PSHE and numeracy. But not PE.
I also won an autumn crocus saucer. Then I stopped bidding.
Look at these lovely brush marks.
I watched the 1985 Channel 4 videos "Pottery Ladies. Miss Cooper, Miss Cliff, Miss Rhead and all the forgotten girls...... " for my dissertation research. They are excellent and I would love to have my own copies. Highlight for me is Ethel Barrow with her hair set for the TV talking about producing patterns and HER name going on them. The Art Director - Clarice in this case - got the credit. Ethel then aggressively paints a conical sugar sifter to prove her point. Here's Ethel Barrow in the 1960s...
And here she is in 2000 when she was 90 years old...
This is from the Clarice Cliff Collectors Club...www.claricecliff.com/features/ethel_90th_birthday/index.shtml
"Originally Ethel was doing all the Crocus flowers, Cissy Rhodes did the leaves, and Clara Thomas the banding. Suddenly though, they were incredibly busy, and a special ‘Crocus shop’ was made on the floor below the Bizarre shop. The team was enlarged and each girl given a specific colour to apply, to speed up the painting to cope with demand. Ethel did the orange flowers, two girls did blue flowers, two purple, there were two ‘leafers’ and two finishers.
At this time the Crocus name was written on the ware above the backstamp by the ‘leafers’ which is why it is in green. The girls at this time were Nellie Webb, Doris Thirlwall, Clara Thomas, Ivy Stringer, and Winnie Pound. They were all on pieces work so the faster they painted the more they earned!”
The pottery ladies..the forgotten paintresses...
Annie Clews
Cissy Rhodes
Clara Thomas
Doris Pemberton
Doris Thirlwall
Eileen Moore
Ethel Robinson
Ethel Steele
Florrie Winkle
Gladys Broad
Gladys Brown
Ivy Ford
Ivy Stringer
Joyce Phillips
Mary Dayson
Mary Harper
Nellie Harrison
Nellie Hill
Nellie Webb
Nora Dobbs
Peggy Davies
Phyllis Norris
Rene Burton
Rose Cumberbatch
Winnie Pound
