Wild Moment: Biddy Barclay
Biddy Barclay tells us about Combine, an exhibition celebrating wild moments, which featured Biddy's pottery and the poetry of her late friend, Christina Buckton.
In September 2025, I hosted 'Combine', an exhibition including ceramics, pictures and poetry. Most notably, Combine featured 'poempots' which were a collaboration between a poet friend, Christina Buckton (pictured below), and myself, a potter. As we both knew that Chris didn’t have much longer to live, we agreed where to exhibit the pots and which charity to donate proceeds from the exhibition to. The John Muir Trust was our choice as we shared a love of wild places and the work that the Trust does.
Combine took place at The Watch House on Orford Quay in Suffolk, East Anglia. I invited local poet, Michael Laskey, to give a reading of the poems and I gave a background on the making of the pots. The exhibtion was attended by David Buckton, Chris's husband of over fifty years, along with local friends and family.
We had copies of a small poetry book donated by David on sale, together with a collection bowl for donations. Peter Chadwick, a local filmmaker, videotaped the event, with David editing and adding photographs to the film.
The exhibition was generously supported by local printers, Mabel and Co, as well as by Aspen Press. Both kindly printed poems, quote cards and a hand-bound book of Christina's poem, 'Boy'. Eleanor Glover, maker and artist, did superb lettering for the poempots 'Hosta', which made unique and unusual artworks.
Boy by Christina Buckton
This small body
soft as a shelled pea
popped from its pod
last of six
too many to hold
dropped on to stony ground
sits close whispering
fingers along her arm
holds the thread
anchored to her knitting
cradles the ball of wool
shapes it with urgent hands
like a nest he says.
Yes. Like a nest.