Janet Leach

Janet Leach (1918–1997) trained as a sculptor in New York before studying ceramics at the Inwood Pottery and Alfred University. In 1947, she established her first pottery at Threefold Farm, 25 miles north of New York. She first met Bernard Leach, Shōji Hamada, and Sōetsu Yanagi during their tour of America in 1952, later studying with Hamada in Japan for two years and travelling widely in the country visiting folk craft potteries.

Janet married Bernard Leach in 1956, having moved to the UK and working alongside him at the Leach Leach Pottery.  Her style was distinct from Bernard’s, strongly influenced by Japanese Bizen pottery and inspired by the stones, textures, and granite walls of Cornwall. She maintained a clear separation between sculpture and pottery, believing that “each has its own standard.”