Bowls, plates, cups take on a life of their own when they are created by a pottery in Lemba
“THE most exciting piece of pottery is the lump of clay sitting on my wheel,” says Lemba-based George Georgiades, and that sort of sums up this man.
Georgiades is a delightfully pragmatic man, gifted with a unique ability for turning clay into highly tactile, and exceedingly usable art forms. Both he, and his equally talented wife, Soteroulla, create some of the most delicious pieces of crafted work to be seen on the island.
I asked George if, after all these years, he is now recognised as a master potter, inundated with interesting commissions? “Sadly no. I do have a good deal of interest from clients in London who fly over regularly to add to their collection of my work, but it is the old story of never really being recognised in one’s own country”. One tale he told reflects the problem many artists have in Cyprus. “A friend went to see my work which was on show in a shop in Nicosia, when she turned over the pots to look for my ‘mark’ she found that the wording ‘Lemba Pottery’ had been painstakingly ground off”. The reason given for this by the owner of the establishment was that his well heeled customers would not buy the work unless they believed the pieces were imported from Europe.
“In an ideal world,” George continued “people would relish direct contact with the maker, want something that hasn’t got the impersonal perfection of the manufactured. It’s difficult to change people’s perceptions of art; most see a dinner service or a bowl as something purely mundane and baulk at paying for bespoke works”.
George was born to become a potter. As a child he would spend his free time watching his father as he made distinctive terracotta pots in his Kyrenia studio. The invasion of ’74 left the family as refugees and minds were focused on basic survival, so the family arrived in Paphos where Georgiades senior once again set up his pottery business. Soon George’s apprenticeship was completed and he took over the family business with his brother.
Business in the mid eighties was good, with plenty of gift hungry tourists happy to buy but the production line approach never fitted with George who had always dreamt of creating a new, totally innovative range of pottery that combined both aesthetic and functional appeal. Soon, he had conquered the complexity of subtle glazes, imported top quality clay from England and Lemba Style was born.
The pieces currently on show in his shop come studio would grace any fine town house in Knightsbridge and here the discerning collector can gaze upon beautiful glazed pots, edgy designed platters and minimalist bowls and plates, and of course there is a range of bright Mediterranean blue pieces which George calls his bread and butter. “This is work that is ideally suited to the gift market. As an artist, I am not in the position to devote my time totally to creating original pieces that will promote my work as an art form, we have to earn a living and like all creative people here in Cyprus we get zero support from the government with regard to promoting talents both home and abroad. We have to constantly make compromises in order to survive in this less than appreciative art conscious era.”
So, when is a plate, pot, or platter a work of art? When it’s created out of love and a good deal of passion by George and Soteroulla Georgiades.
l Lemba Pottery Lemba Village. Tel 26 270822. email [email protected] www.lembapottery.com
What car do you drive?
Toyota 4×4
Describe your perfect weekend
In my boat, fishing.
What is your greatest fear?
Being paralysed
What is your earliest memory?
Camping in the forest in summertime
Assuming you believed in reincarnation, who or what would you come back as?
A world traveller and naturalist
What did you have for breakfast?
Toast and a piece of cheese
What was the last item of clothing you bought?
Jeans and a T shirt
