Ealing Abbey Pottery

Large stoneware mugs

The Craftsmen of the Monastery

In his rule Saint Benedict teaches that it is good when monks earn their living by the labour of their own hands.
He warns against the temptation to craftspersons to become inflated with pride about their role. The danger is that they come to think that they are conferring some special benefit on the community by their work.
He counsels the community to sell their products a little less expensively than is the norm and to avoid the temptation to greed.

The Importance of Creativity

P1000823

Small stoneware bowl.

Crafts are among the activities that are especially valuable to monastic communities for the potential that they offer for the development of the creativity of their members. In recent years at Ealing, Abbot Martin Shipperlee has encouraged the involvement of community members in the care of the garden, cooking, music and crafts.

 

Ealing Abbey Pottery

Medium stoneware bowl

Medium stoneware bowl

There is now a fledgling pottery at Ealing Abbey. Each of the products of the pottery is made by a member of the monastic community. The work is made in a contemplative spirit. It is hoped that the pieces reflects this. A variety of materials and techniques are used. The workshop has a small output and this is always changing and developing. The aim is to produce work of the very highest quality. The products of the Ealing Abbey Pottery are already becoming collector’s items.

Ealing Abbey Pottery

Jars-and-Bowls

Jars and bowls produced at Ealing Abbey Pottery

© Ealing Abbey, copyright 22 August 2017