The interesting thing was we never talked about pottery. Bernard [Leach] talked about social issues; he talked about the world political situation,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We were living with Bernard [Leach] in his home. He had a fantastic collection of early English and Japanese and Chinese and… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
When Bernard [Leach] wrote his book, he wrote about the fact that even when pots are made in a series, there is… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Bernard's [Leach] drawings delineated every little accent on the pot, every subtle curve and change of angle and proportion and all. — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We could make our own pots on the weekends and in the evenings, and we used to do that, and these would… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[Bernard Leach] talked about painting, but we never talked about ceramics in that evening. But at the end of the evening he… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Living with [Bernard] Leach, who thought about pottery 24 hours a day, was a fantastic experience, and we really began to get… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
In the Leach Pottery we did most of our work on the wheel. [Bernard] Leach did a little work in the studio,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
If you press-mold a pot or if you slab-build a pot, the work has got to take much, much, much longer than… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
In searching for further training we turned to England and Bernard Leach. We thought since we had responded to his book so… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
In looking at these pots at the Field Museum, Alix [MacKenzie] and I both came to a conclusion individually but also collectively… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I'm striving to make things which are the most exciting things I can make that will fit in people's homes. And in… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We [with Alix MacKenzie] had decided we needed further training, and certainly Leach was the one we turned to. So we went… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We asked a lot of questions and we watched everyone who was working in the studio. And we had an opportunity to… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We were working from very exact models and dimensions and weights of clay to make these pots which had been designed some… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Bernard [Leach] had acquired many [Shoji] Hamada works. Some of them, it was interesting - first of all, Hamada worked in St.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Friends of Bernard's [Leach] came to visit, and when we went to London, we were given introductions to people like Lucie Rie,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I make a lot of pots in a year's time and some of them are good and some of them are mediocre… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
In fact, when Bernard [Leach] would be called away to go up to London for something and we'd be living alone for… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Since your time is your main involvement here - I mean, the clay doesn't cost very much. Even the glaze and the… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[Bernard Leach] was an incredible draftsman, and at the end of breakfast time, for instance, he would push his plate back, and… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
If [Bernard Leach] didn't like the drawing, he'd X it out and do another one and change the form a little bit.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[ Bernard] Leach was the one who taught us that, because he, too, had started out as a painter and an etcher… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Looking back on it now, I understand why that was not possible [to express ourselves], because the pottery employed a dozen people,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
When we worked at the pottery, we did learn to make pots, that is, the physical act of making the pot. We… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We did respect [Bernard Leach], although we also were willing to challenge ideas and at least put forth our feelings about the… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We never had a catalogue; we never said we were going to duplicate these pots this year and next year and the… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I think back to some of the pots we made when we first started our pottery, and they were pretty awful pots.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
At the end of that two weeks Bernard [Leach] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[Kathleen Blackshear] just said, "Have you thought of looking at this?" and so on and so on and so on. And it was a… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
Some years ago I was working on some forms which were vase forms with a fairly narrow base, and it was after [Hans] Coper… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
I found out later on that was not true, that life drawing tells you a great deal about rhythm, about the structure of a… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
Remember, this is back in the '40s, and the idea of a museum being a place where interested people could come in direct contact… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
At the end of that two weeks Bernard [Leach] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln, the big… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
I got drafted into the army and by pure chance was pushed into a silk-screen shop at this camp where I was, because they… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
[In the Field Museum of Natural History] we could see very simple, primitive, hand-built pottery from Babylonia and ancient Egypt and so forth, Greece.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
Chicago is a wonderful area because it's blessed with a tremendous number of museums of various sorts, not only the Art Institute of Chicago… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
It was a wonderful opportunity. And so for two and a half years we lived with [Bernard] Leach. — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think that it… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
I went to the Chicago Art Institute, which was the best painting school in the area at that time. And I took painting classes… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from Japan, who… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
Bernard [Leach] was making pots which were duplicates of his drawing, and that was a difference of approach, which I think is quite critical… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
I don't know, it's very difficult if you're in a strange country to just barge in and say, "Hello, I'm Warren MacKenzie, and aren't… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
[Shoji] Hamada seldom drew an exact drawing of a pot that he was going to make. — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share
![“The interesting thing was we never talked about pottery. Bernard [Leach] talked about social issues; he talked about the world political situation, he talked about the economy, he talked about all kinds of things.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/028/warren-mackenzie-4654_all-kinds_the-interesting-thing-was-we-never-talke_3120313.jpg)
![“We were living with Bernard [Leach] in his home. He had a fantastic collection of early English and Japanese and Chinese and Korean pots and German pots, contemporary English work as well. And we had access to this collection.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/1fe/warren-mackenzie-4654_access_we-were-living-with-bernard-leach-in-his_2394143.jpg)
![“It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from Japan, who had come from Japan back to England with [Bernard] Leach when Leach was establishing his pottery.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7e4/warren-mackenzie-4654_best-friend_it-was-there-that-we-really-first-came-i_295653.jpg)
![“When Bernard [Leach] wrote his book, he wrote about the fact that even when pots are made in a series, there is a personality to each pot and that the person who made it reflects their personality into the clay.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/95c/warren-mackenzie-4654_book_when-bernard-leach-wrote-his-book-he-wro_1910353.jpg)
![“Bernard's [Leach] drawings delineated every little accent on the pot, every subtle curve and change of angle and proportion and all.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/dc9/warren-mackenzie-4654_accents_bernard-s-leach-drawings-delineated-ever_2920404.jpg)
![“[Bernard Leach] talked about painting, but we never talked about ceramics in that evening. But at the end of the evening he said to us, "Well," he said, "I've changed my mind, and if you want, you can come back a year from now and apprentice in the workshop."” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/1bf/warren-mackenzie-4654_apprentice_bernard-leach-talked-about-painting-but_1965345.jpg)
![“Living with [Bernard] Leach, who thought about pottery 24 hours a day, was a fantastic experience, and we really began to get inside his mind and understand what had motivated him to work all his life as a potter.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b51/warren-mackenzie-4654_fantastic_living-with-bernard-leach-who-thought-ab_1548049.jpg)
![“In the Leach Pottery we did most of our work on the wheel. [Bernard] Leach did a little work in the studio, which was press-molded forms, plastic clay pressed into plaster forms to make small rectangular boxes and some vase forms, which he liked to make. These were molds which had been made to an…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3a8/warren-mackenzie-4654_boxes_in-the-leach-pottery-we-did-most-of-our_447338.jpg)
![“In looking at these pots at the Field Museum, Alix [MacKenzie] and I both came to a conclusion individually but also collectively that the pots that really interested us were the pots that people had used in their everyday life, and we began to think - I mean, whether it was ancient Greece or…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/17d/warren-mackenzie-4654_ancient_in-looking-at-these-pots-at-the-field-mu_1294704.jpg)
![“We [with Alix MacKenzie] had decided we needed further training, and certainly Leach was the one we turned to. So we went to England this summer and we took examples of our work along with us and showed them to Bernard Leach and told him what we were trying to do. And of course he took one look at…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/353/warren-mackenzie-4654_courses_we-with-alix-mackenzie-had-decided-we-ne_1475255.jpg)
![“We were working from very exact models and dimensions and weights of clay to make these pots which had been designed some 10 or 12 years previous to our arriving [at Bernard's Leach studio]. And we, being, I guess you would say young, arrogant Americans, thought that we ought to be able to somehow…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3ce/warren-mackenzie-4654_able_we-were-working-from-very-exact-models-a_2464088.jpg)
![“Bernard [Leach] had acquired many [Shoji] Hamada works. Some of them, it was interesting - first of all, Hamada worked in St. Ives for about four years before returning to Japan to start his own pottery. He had exhibitions in London, and if these exhibitions didn't sell out, the galleries were…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/6c0/warren-mackenzie-4654_exhibitions_bernard-leach-had-acquired-many-shoji-ha_2454863.jpg)
![“Friends of Bernard's [Leach] came to visit, and when we went to London, we were given introductions to people like Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Richard Batram. All these people were, let's say, made available to us by a friendship with Leach. In addition there was a potter's group - what was it called?…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/dd3/warren-mackenzie-4654_available_friends-of-bernard-s-leach-came-to-visit_2626681.jpg)
![“In fact, when Bernard [Leach] would be called away to go up to London for something and we'd be living alone for a couple of days, we would dig into the storage areas in the house and we'd get out all the pots that we might not see in the course of our daily life, because we weren't using them in…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/70e/warren-mackenzie-4654_areas_in-fact-when-bernard-leach-would-be-call_1205373.jpg)
![“[Bernard Leach] was an incredible draftsman, and at the end of breakfast time, for instance, he would push his plate back, and he'd pull an old scrap of paper out of his pocket and a little stub of a pencil, and he'd begin to make small drawings, about an inch and a half, two inches tall, of pots…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/d2b/warren-mackenzie-4654_beautiful_bernard-leach-was-an-incredible-draftsma_1663627.jpg)
![“If [Bernard Leach] didn't like the drawing, he'd X it out and do another one and change the form a little bit. And when he was all done, he would stuff these pieces of paper in his pocket and go off to the pottery, and when he wanted to make pots, he would then take these out and he'd begin to…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/34d/warren-mackenzie-4654_bits_if-bernard-leach-didn-t-like-the-drawing_1007603.jpg)
![“[ Bernard] Leach was the one who taught us that, because he, too, had started out as a painter and an etcher and had only gotten into ceramics by chance when he was in Japan trying to teach the Japanese how to do etching, which, as he said, they were not ready for yet.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/9e6/warren-mackenzie-4654_ceramics_bernard-leach-was-the-one-who-taught-us_830509.jpg)
![“Looking back on it now, I understand why that was not possible [to express ourselves], because the pottery employed a dozen people, not all of whom are making pots. And these people had families, children, and they had to have a wage that would allow them to raise their family and they had to get…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7c6/warren-mackenzie-4654_afternoon_looking-back-on-it-now-i-understand-why_1308684.jpg)
![“We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think that it should be any different in mid-North America 20th century? And we decided then that our work would center around that sort of utilitarian pottery, and that's what I've…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/db7/warren-mackenzie-4654_20th-century_we-thought-with-alix-mackenzie-if-those_265640.jpg)
![“We did respect [Bernard Leach], although we also were willing to challenge ideas and at least put forth our feelings about the way the pottery was run, about things that were done, about the pots we were making, etc. And we would get into sometimes some very fierce arguments. We'd be shouting at…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/33b/warren-mackenzie-4654_argument_we-did-respect-bernard-leach-although-we_1230748.jpg)
![“At the end of that two weeks Bernard [Leach] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln, the big oil-fired kiln that they had. He was still sitting what we call a kiln watch at that time, and he wondered if we would like to sit the watch with him and talk. So naturally this was our…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/6dd/warren-mackenzie-4654_big-oil_at-the-end-of-that-two-weeks-bernard-lea_146880.jpg)
