A little pottery provenance
By Tracy Burton
Ian Fitzpatrick scoops some colourful shards of pottery from the ground and studies them. “This piece is from Porches Pottery,” he tells me. “And this looks like one of Jorge’s.”
A little pottery provenance
By Tracy Burton
Ian Fitzpatrick scoops some colourful shards of pottery from the ground and studies them. “This piece is from Porches Pottery,” he tells me. “And this looks like one of Jorge’s.”
The founder of Olaria Pequena is rightfully proud of the provenance of ‘the little pottery’ just outside Porches, where he set up his own ceramics studio in 1983 and continues to produce beautiful handmade pieces.
It was Ian’s idea to create a garden path from thousands of pottery fragments, including those long discarded by distinguished ceramists Jorge Mealha and the late Patrick Swift. The resulting pathway is steeped in colour and history, just like Olaria Pequena itself.
Originally from Glasgow, Ian studied ceramic design at art school in Scotland. He planned to stay in the Algarve for one year to work alongside Jorge, who was based in the century-old farmhouse previously occupied by Porches Pottery.
“I came from the north where the tradition – especially in ceramics – was of muted colours,” Ian explains. “Jorge is from Mozambique and had a very different style.”
As his year drew to an end, Ian found himself presented with an unmissable opportunity. Jorge was relocating to Lagos and the property would soon be vacant.
“Jorge was taking everything with him: the kilns, the equipment, even the shop fixtures,” Ian recalls. “I would be left with an empty shell, but it seemed like a great opportunity to establish my own studio. I thought I could stay for a few years then go back.”
Ian never did return to Scotland. In the intervening decades, he has pursued his passion for creating striking pottery pieces, from plates, dishes and tiles to pots, vases and mugs. His hand-painted designs are distinctive and include olives and lemons, fish, cats, chameleon and storks. Each piece of pottery is designed to be functional.