The Bauhaus Potters – Form Follows Clay (1920s Gernany)

The Bauhaus wasn’t just a school — it was a manifesto. A place where painters learned to build furniture, metalworkers studied colour theory, and ceramicists... well, they got quietly radical with clay.

Founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, the Bauhaus School set out to unite art and industry. Its ceramics workshop, led by sculptor Gerhard Marcks and master potter Max Krehan, treated the humble pot as both art object and industrial prototype.

Out went ornate decoration. In came clarity, balance, and utility — bowls with clean rims, mugs made to be held, and glazes that respected the material rather than hiding it.

One of the most notable Bauhaus-trained potters was Marguerite Wildenhain, who fled Nazi Germany and later established Pond Farm in California. There, she taught clay as a way of thinking: design from need, and shape from the hand.

The Bauhaus spirit lives on in many studio practices today — especially those that treat a mug not just as a vessel, but as an idea.

Next in Clay Lore: Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus Spirit in Clay (1930s - 1950s USA)