Ceramic has an immense history involved with it. It includes not only its own history but also the history of the people that are involved in it. Its history goes into thousands of years. A ceramic piece found at an archeological site has immense importance as it helps archeologists date back to the time when it was made. Just like ceramic pieces do not perish over thousand of years in the same way its history is linked to the history of its maker. History in ceramics also dates back to the origin of the artist. The history of an artist includes his origin, his personal and social background and his skills over his work. There are people who practice it as a necessity to sustain themselves and they have a different style and way of working as to those who do it as a hobby and interest.

Above and below: Work by Cecil Baugh

An artist whose life was filled with hardships and a lot of struggle was Cecil Baugh, a Jamaican artist, whose work had a lot of emotional influences. He was the son of a farmer who later became the master porter of Jamaica. He accompanied his mother and while walking he saw two women firing a kiln. This was the start of his carrier as a potter. Later he also took an apprenticeship and worked as a potter. He sold his pieces in a street market and then worked as a grounds keeper and then became a door to door pottery salesman. In his initial years of exploring he worked with traditional Jamaican pottery.
He got introduced to glaze making and he suffered personal downfalls. He was a victim of racial discrimination and his mother and daughter had died and his marriage was failing. All these events shaped his life as a master potter. As it is said that tragedy shapes the spirit just as it breaks the heart. Again he became like the clay he so loved - moulded by his experiences. One thing every potter knows about preparing clay for shaping is that, in order for the artwork to survive inside the fires of the kiln, all air bubbles must be removed, and so the clay must be kneaded or 'beaten' to perfection. This applied to his life so much during these tragic times.
To him all what ever he did was not perfect as he is reported to have said that the best is always ahead of you. He worked with glazes and how to make a piece decorative before firing it. Since he was a soldier in World war two he always believed to be strong and never to retreat. His experiences made him a man of great determination and this determination led him to make fabulous pieces of art using glazes.
One of Cecil Baugh's favourite quotes sums up his life: "Painting is good, but pottery never dies." Cecil Baugh, like his own pieces of pottery, will truly never die.

Another artist who struggled through his life was te potter Robert Fournier. Something of a rebel, he was a lifelong pacifist and atheist, and his decision to become a potter was, in part, a refusal to compete in what he saw as an increasingly consumer-led society.
He also had financial problems in his early life as the son of a carpenter. He was thought as having no intellect by one of his teachers. He lost all his money and used to live in a shed with his wife. He refused to enlist in World War two and was prisoned.
However he was inspired by the techniques and principles that his taught him. He was inclined more to Mediterranean and industrial ware. He also produced slipwares, glazes and mosiacs.
He produced stoneware, developing individual pieces as well as a range of tableware. Aware of the growing interest in ceramics, Fournier issued 500 colour slides of historical ceramics, then a revolutionary educational aid much-used by schools and individual potters.

Then he finally settled in a beautiful village. This had a great inpact on his work as it gave his the basis of his work. His surrondings made him forget his past and he adjusting to his surroundings consolidated his ceramics producing what became his signature pieces, a range of "pebble" pots that were based on natural forms. With a sure understanding of the organic structures of stones, rocks and plants, he translated these into clay through the use of simple, hand-built or moulded dish shapes, or tall flattened bottles. These were decorated with areas of unglazed clay, poured, textured white glaze and dotted with small patches of rich, saturated colour.
However although having a difficult past he studied his new surroundings and took inspiration from it.

Below: Works by Robert Fournier