Warren Mackenzie

This book is a journey through the life and work of a great American craftsman, an account of his vision and struggle. Warren MacKenzie has spent his life extending a craft tradition that draws inspiration from the great potter Bernard Leach in Britain, the mingei movement of postwar Japan, and traditional American crafts. His work - exhibited in major museums across the United States and featured in art publications throughout the world - represents a successful pioneering effort to establish contemporary craft as a form of expression equal to any of the fine arts. Through the lucid prose of David Lewis and the stunning photography of Peter Lee we enter into the inner sanctum of the artist's life. We are there during the inspirational years of his apprenticeship with Bernard Leach in Cornwall. We are there in his workshop in Minnesota, watching as he brings a ball of clay to life, spins a shapeless wet mass into a glistening tower of a vase. We are there in his home as the artist succinctly places pottery - and indeed, the whole array of hand-made objects - into a new and meaningful context for the nineties.