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Wedgwood and Artists: The Green Man Plate

Art Fund has helped museums and galleries across the UK to buy great works of art since 1903. 

In 1989 and 1990, Art Fund commissioned contemporary artists to design a collection of plates. Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Patrick Heron, Bruce McLean, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, and John Piper created plate designs for Wedgwood. This plate features a recurrent image in Piper’s work, the foliate head of The Green Man - a robustly pagan figure from English folklore.

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Wedgwood and Artists: Festival of Britain Mug

The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that took place in the summer of 1951. It attracted millions of visitors from across the UK and looked forward with a sense of hope and optimism. It was a tonic to the nation after the hardships of war and the austerity that followed in the post-war years. The festival also celebrated the past as it was the centenary of the Great Exhibition.

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Richard’s Recipes: Father’s Day Savoury Scones with Homemade Chilli Jam and Dovedale Blue Butter

Yield 12


For the savoury scones

Ingredients:        

250g self-raising four
125g salted butter, cold from the fridge
50g mature Cheddar, grated
50g Dovedale blue, grated
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp fresh rosemary needles, finely chopped
25ml buttermilk
25ml whole milk
1 medium free-range egg
5g finely grated parmesan
A little milk for glazing

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°C

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Meet Olivia Thackstone

What is your name?

Olivia Thackstone.

What do you do?

Front of House Manager at World of Wedgwood.

What do you like most about your job?

Museum Tours and telling stories of the factory workers.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

Cooking, gardening and music. I run a Brownie and Guide unit and and enjoy an occasional trip to the pub (normally after the Brownie and Guide meetings!).

Who inspires you?

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Wedgwood and Artists: Barlaston Mug

Wedgwood is renowned for its commemorative ware. One of the most deceptively simple, although important to the history of World War II, commemorative pieces ever designed was the 1940 Barlaston mug by Eric Ravilious. The mug celebrates the company’s move to its new purpose-built factory at Barlaston. It was a momentous decision to relocate from Etruria, the factory Josiah had founded in 1769, especially as Britain was amid World War II.

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Wedgwood and Artists: Portland Vase – Ivanhoe Series

In later years artists gained considerable inspiration from Wedgwood’s iconic designs and patterns. In this instance, Thomas Allen has adapted the most iconic piece of all: the Portland vase.

Thomas Allen was one of the greatest ceramic artists of the 19th century and joined Wedgwood around late 1875 or early 1876, after a spell working for Minton. In his role as the company’s first art director, Allen had control of a studio of artists. Under his influence the output and range of studio and art wares grew greatly.

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