JOHN BEDDING

John Bedding (b. 1947) is a British studio potter and founder of St Ives Ceramics. He began potting at the age of seventeen in a small commercial pottery in South London, drawn to ceramics by its combination of art, craft, and chemistry.

Bedding moved to St Ives in the late 1960s, where he worked with Bernard Leach, first as an apprentice and later as a member of staff. He spent a year in France developing his own style, and in 1978 he was sent to Japan by the Leach Pottery. There, he worked in Tachiqui in the Tamba province with Shigeyoshi Ichino, assisting with traditional wood-fired naborigama kilns and culminating in a solo exhibition in Osaka.

On returning to England, Bedding established his own pottery, initially in Penzance and Trencrom, before opening St Ives Pottery (now St Ives Ceramics) in 1991. In 1998 he moved his workshop to The Gaolyard Studios, expanding gallery space to include the CBS Collection and a wider range of ceramic styles. Bedding’s work now focuses on exhibitions and his gallery stock, allowing him to experiment with diverse techniques. His work has been exhibited at Tate St Ives and galleries in London, and in 2002 a 30-minute film on his practice, Fired Earth, was broadcast on Sky Arts Channel.

Bedding is a founding member and trustee of the Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust Ltd., established to preserve and restore the Leach Pottery. He has recently been named Honorary Lead Potter, serving in an advisory and curatorial role, reflecting his longstanding connection to the pottery and its legacy.