BLACKWELL is one of the country's finest Arts and Crafts houses. Blessed with glorious views of Windermere and the surrounding fells, it opened its doors this week for the new season.

Ceramics by three prominent makers - Emmanuel Cooper, Carina Ciscato and Chris Keenan - make use of traditional methods to create contemporary work of both stunning individuality and beauty.

Emmanuel Cooper is an established and highly respected figure in his field, being both editor of Ceramic Review and visiting professor in ceramics and glass at the Royal College of Art.

Cooper began his career in the early 1960s and was included in the major 1981 exhibition, The Maker's Eye, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Crafts Council. Included in the display will be a number of his wheel-thrown dishes and bowls. He produces work in a variety of colours and textures by applying layers of slip and glaze and firing individual pieces a number of times.

Brazilian-born Carina Ciscato moved to Britain in 1999 after an apprenticeship with the South American country's leading ceramicist Lucia Ramenzoni. Later, in London, she worked as an assistant to potter and writer Julian Stair.

The fragility of uneven torn' top edges are a recurring feature of her work, usually produced in white porcelain, but occasionally with a greenish-blue celadon glaze.

Meanwhile, London-based Chris Keenan swapped training as an actor for the visual arts stage, becoming an apprentice to potter Edmund de Waal in 1995. His technique involves throwing beakers, bowls, bottles and lidded jars in Limoges porcelain, which are then glazed using combinations of tenmoku and a deep celadon.

In addition, there are displays of works on loan from the Lakeland Arts Trust's own collection and other sources.

Included will be a selection of items created during the past 70 years, showing the range of techniques employed and the importance of studio pottery in Britain in the 20th Century, featuring work by key early figures including Bernard Leach, William Staite Murray, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper.

Add to that examples of work by other major players such as Claudi Casanovas, Magdalene Odundo, Takeshi Yasuda, Richard Slee and Bodil Manz and you have plenty of reasons for a trip to Blackwell.

Contemporary Ceramics runs until April 18.

Blackwell is open seven days a week from 10.30am-4pm. For further details, contact 015394-46139.