Graham Corbin, ‘Vanroy’, was born on the halcyon Caribbean island of Barbados and although certain influences he observed did not have an immediate impact, they played an important part in his eventual craft development. The strolls on the beach, the striking sunsets, driftwood and the islands array of colourful flowers had impacted on him.
Go to Slideshow Another great influence on him was his mother Marie, who encouraged him as a child to always strive to excel at whatever he did. She was the personal assistant and confidant of the actress Claudette Colbert for about forty years rubbing shoulders with many famous actors and actresses, many of whom visited the house for tea.
His first love in his teenage years was bodybuilding and to pursue his dream of competing in the Mr. Universe contest, he immigrated to Britain in 1962. Two years later he was invited to compete after placing in the top three of the qualifying competitions, the Mr. West Midlands and the Mr. Britain.
During this bodybuilding period, Graham worked at Alcan Metals as a Quality Control officer, from 1965 until early retirement in 1992. It was then he decided he wanted something creative to occupy his time but had no idea what path to go down. When a teacher friend, Rob Fountain, put a piece of clay in his hand, Graham loved the feel and malleability of it and decided this was for him.
Graham then enrolled into a ceramic course at Clarity Ceramics, 1993-94, and was introduced to slip casting by Maria Duke, but as he said, he ‘wanted to get his hands dirty’ and contemplated throwing - the art of making pots on a wheel. But on being told it would take six months to learn, he decided on hand-building instead and has grown to love it – even so, he is able to throw small pots on the wheel. Graham then attended the MAC (Midland Arts Centre) in 1995 for two terms for further tuition.
The rise to becoming a master craftsman was rapid, achieved by hard work, dedication and a very creative mind that would not accept constraints of the regular rules of ceramics and pottery, nor wood. Graham has made items that he was told would not succeed because of their size or complex construction, with much wonderment from the doubters.
He has built his own kiln (see slideshow), which stands proudly in his garden, to enable firings en mass and large creations. Graham has also built a smaller kiln that he uses for his raku work and made various tools that enable him to make creations that would be otherwise almost impossible to achieve. He also makes his own moulds for slip casting, with some worth hundreds of pounds with their complexity.
Graham has had many exhibitions both in England as well as Barbados, where he has been invited by the Barbados Tourism Authority to exhibit at its events. He spends some time in Barbados that includes creating beautiful ceramic jewellery, so these are working holidays – more work than holiday.
To allow his work to be shown in Barbados while he is there or back in Britain, he has built a gallery next to the house, which is manned by some good friends in his absence.
Graham has developed an amazing repertoire, working not only in clay, but also in wood and metal, sometimes combining all three in some of his creations. Combinations of different woods are again combined to create interesting pieces and be more pleasing to the eye. His work, in all mediums, is in demand and he also works to commission for specific requirements. Inside you will find an array of tremendous creations, with most, surprisingly, being not just ornamental, but also fully functional.
