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Functional Pottery by Robin Hopper
This is a complex book which analyzes history, design, and aesthetics of handmade utilitarian pots. It is designed to be of use to anyone who makes or who is interested in making pottery, or who just loves ceramics and wants to further understand some of the qualities to be found in a 'good pot.'
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First published March 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 8, 2025
Robin Hopper’s Functional Pottery: Form and Aesthetic in Pots of Purpose (2011) reads at first like a how‑to manual, but under the guise of practical instruction lies a quietly profound meditation on the very nature of utility, beauty, and the relationship between maker, object, and user. Hopper—a potter whose career spanned continents and whose teaching influenced generations of studio potters—deploys his deep technical knowledge as a means rather than an end, guiding the reader toward a richer understanding of what it means for an object to be “both useful and lovely.”
Structure and Method
The book is divided into three parts. The first examines the language of form—how proportions, curve, and profile speak to our innate sense of balance and harmony. Here, Hopper moves gracefully from measured analysis to lyrical reflection, comparing the gentle swelling of a teapot spout to the arc of a songbird’s wing. He invites the reader to slow down: to sketch, to measure, and then to sketch again with newfound intention. Part Two turns to surface and decoration, treating glazes not simply as colorants but as collaborators, agents of texture and light. Finally, in Part Three, Hopper addresses the interplay of form and function in the completed pot: the weight of a cup when lifted, the sound of a stirring tea wafting from inside, the daruma‑like pleasure of a vessel resting exactly where it ought to in one’s hand.
Close Reading of Key Passages
In his discussion of the classic “bellied bowl” shape, Hopper writes that the pot’s fullness evokes a kind of visual exhale—a moment in which form breathes into function. This anthropomorphic language is more than poetic flourish; it reinforces his central thesis that functional pots are living things, symbiotic with human gesture. Similarly, his treatment of tenmoku glazes, with their subtle iron‑drip patterns, becomes an allegory for the beauty of imperfection. Hopper’s reflections here resonate with the wabi‑sabi aesthetic—valuing irregularity, transience, and the hand of the maker.
Critical Evaluation
At its best, Functional Pottery achieves a rare alchemy of technical precision and philosophical depth. Hopper never condescends to either the novice potter or the seasoned professional; rather, he addresses the maker’s impulse to “make useful things” with both clarity and compassion. However, at times the book’s dual audience—those seeking technique and those seeking contemplation—creates minor tension. Readers purely interested in glaze chemistry may find the more ruminative chapters leisurely, while those drawn to the poetic might skim the step‑by‑step demonstrations too rapidly. But perhaps this is the point: Hopper insists that neither form nor function can be fully divorced from the human hand and mind that shapes it.
Contribution to the Field
In the broader landscape of studio pottery literature, Hopper’s work stands alongside Bernard Leach’s A Potter’s Book and Michael Cardew’s Pond Tiles but moves decisively beyond mere tradition. By interweaving personal anecdote—moments from his early training in England, his founding of the Banff Centre’s ceramics department, his travels in Japan—with rigorous exploration of form, Hopper situates Functional Pottery as both a manual and a memoir. The result is a text that invites repeated readings: one for the potter’s wheel, another for the armchair.
Ultimately, Functional Pottery is less about “how to make” and more about “how to see.” It challenges us to regard the vessels that populate our tables not as inert containers but as extensions of our own embodied knowing. For anyone who seeks an aesthetic that honors use, an artisan’s guide that sings, or simply a quiet invitation to look more deeply at everyday objects, Robin Hopper’s voice remains as resonant and necessary today as ever.
Structure and Method
The book is divided into three parts. The first examines the language of form—how proportions, curve, and profile speak to our innate sense of balance and harmony. Here, Hopper moves gracefully from measured analysis to lyrical reflection, comparing the gentle swelling of a teapot spout to the arc of a songbird’s wing. He invites the reader to slow down: to sketch, to measure, and then to sketch again with newfound intention. Part Two turns to surface and decoration, treating glazes not simply as colorants but as collaborators, agents of texture and light. Finally, in Part Three, Hopper addresses the interplay of form and function in the completed pot: the weight of a cup when lifted, the sound of a stirring tea wafting from inside, the daruma‑like pleasure of a vessel resting exactly where it ought to in one’s hand.
Close Reading of Key Passages
In his discussion of the classic “bellied bowl” shape, Hopper writes that the pot’s fullness evokes a kind of visual exhale—a moment in which form breathes into function. This anthropomorphic language is more than poetic flourish; it reinforces his central thesis that functional pots are living things, symbiotic with human gesture. Similarly, his treatment of tenmoku glazes, with their subtle iron‑drip patterns, becomes an allegory for the beauty of imperfection. Hopper’s reflections here resonate with the wabi‑sabi aesthetic—valuing irregularity, transience, and the hand of the maker.
Critical Evaluation
At its best, Functional Pottery achieves a rare alchemy of technical precision and philosophical depth. Hopper never condescends to either the novice potter or the seasoned professional; rather, he addresses the maker’s impulse to “make useful things” with both clarity and compassion. However, at times the book’s dual audience—those seeking technique and those seeking contemplation—creates minor tension. Readers purely interested in glaze chemistry may find the more ruminative chapters leisurely, while those drawn to the poetic might skim the step‑by‑step demonstrations too rapidly. But perhaps this is the point: Hopper insists that neither form nor function can be fully divorced from the human hand and mind that shapes it.
Contribution to the Field
In the broader landscape of studio pottery literature, Hopper’s work stands alongside Bernard Leach’s A Potter’s Book and Michael Cardew’s Pond Tiles but moves decisively beyond mere tradition. By interweaving personal anecdote—moments from his early training in England, his founding of the Banff Centre’s ceramics department, his travels in Japan—with rigorous exploration of form, Hopper situates Functional Pottery as both a manual and a memoir. The result is a text that invites repeated readings: one for the potter’s wheel, another for the armchair.
Ultimately, Functional Pottery is less about “how to make” and more about “how to see.” It challenges us to regard the vessels that populate our tables not as inert containers but as extensions of our own embodied knowing. For anyone who seeks an aesthetic that honors use, an artisan’s guide that sings, or simply a quiet invitation to look more deeply at everyday objects, Robin Hopper’s voice remains as resonant and necessary today as ever.
March 24, 2013
Excellent book. Made me consider how I build vessels related to their use. The x-ray pictures of hands holding mugs help me to plan my handles better. The discussion of forces related to pouring from vessels mad me rethink pitchers and teapots. Discussions of how cooking vessels are used help me design these with improvement in placement of holding pieces and shape. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to make vessels that are loved for their beauty and their ease of use.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews