I was fortunate to grow up in a creative household. My aristocratic Polish father was an architect, painter and a very good cook, who also made my mother beautiful tailored clothes and cocktail dresses. My stylish English mother was an interior designer of note who made memorable hats. They danced a mean tango! Amongst their friends were painters, potters and printmakers. My choice of career is no surprise.
My early years were spent in Devon. It was nearly 20 years before I returned to the Westcountry to live, this time to Cornwall, via London and North Yorkshire.
Very loosely I’d say the 60s were spent in London enjoying being a student; the 70s were devoted to Lustre Pottery; the 80s/90s to printmaking and the design and production of tile panels/murals; also the 90s were the start of the big pastel paintings. The decorated bone china appeared about 2010.
My inspiration has always come from what I see around me. Today that is the stunning North Cornwall coast and beaches, the green lanes and hedgerows and my beautiful garden where I grow interesting things to draw. My colourful pastels often depict the rich harvest of the Cornish sea; lobsters, crabs, mackerel and scallops amongst them.
Insight into professional past
EDUCATION 1964-1969
Exeter College of Art, Foundation
Central School of Art, Ceramics Dip AD, Central School Diploma
Chelsea College of Art, Postgraduate Printmaking H Dip AD
LUSTRE POTTERY 1971-1982
Walking tea set manufactured by Carltonware, Stoke-on-Trent
Established and ran Lustre Pottery, North Yorkshire with husband Roger Michell. Fine thrown and turned, highly decorated white earthenware was made in the studio pottery. Later a casting unit was added to make small runs of modelled/decorated pieces, many of
them teapots. Danka was responsible for the design, decorating and glazing. In 1974 they designed the Walking Tea set which was subsequently manufactured by Carltonware, Stoke-on-Trent. This was the first of many designs produced for them over a seven year period.
Lustre Pottery featured in many articles and publications including ‘Potters on Pottery’ by Elizabeth Cameron and Philippa Lewis and ‘The British Teapot’ by Tim and Janet Street-Porter.
The Teapots are represented in many collections, these are just a few.
Victoria and Albert Museum
The City Art Gallery, Glasgow
Hanley Museum, Stoke-on-Trent
National Museum, Cardiff
Tea & Coffee Museum, London
Selected Exhibitions
1973, ‘Craftsmans’ Art’ Victoria & Albert Museum
1974, ‘One for the Pot’ Wolverhampton Art Gallery, London
1975, New Work, Strangeways, London
1976, ‘Potters on Pottery’ Casson Gallery, London
1977, ‘Après L’humour’ Axis Gallery, Paris
1977, ‘Say When’ Victoria & Albert Museum, London
1981, ‘Concorso Internationale della Ceramica’ Faenza, Italy
1982, Christmas Show, British Craft Centre, Covent Garden, London
DECORATIVE TILING
Kitchen Tile panel
After moving to Cornwall in 1982, Danka worked principally with tiles (while continuing with her printmaking). She designed/produced tiles for many kitchens and bathrooms then tile panels and murals for the public and commercial sectors.
Some Non-Domestic Tile Commissions
1, Swimming Pool, Leaping Dolphins, Dolphin Court Luxury Homes, High Wycombe
2, Jacuzzi, Tropical theme, Pagham Farm holiday park, Bognor Regis
3, Swimming Pool & Jacuzzi, Rockley sands holiday Park, Poole, Dorset
4, Mens Shower Area, Rock Sailing Club, Rock, North Cornwall
5, Life-size Seaside Bathers, Jon Bouys Fish Restaurant, Newquay
6, Fish Murals, Holmbush Fish Bar, St Austell and College Lane Fish Bar, Bodmin
7, Billy & Betty Mural, Fast Food Area, Golden Sands Holiday Parc, Woolacomb, Devon
8, Animal Friezes, Fine Fettle Butchers Shop, Truro
PUBLIC ART/ MUSEUM/ COMMUNITY ART
Sand blasted pansy installation, Bodmin hospital, NHS Trust
1992-2000, Four Tile Panels, St Kew CP School, North Cornwall
1992, Complete Tiled Bathroom, Kitchen Frieze, !EUREKA! The Childrens’ Museum, Halifax
1993, Tile Panel in Bakers Shop, 1930s Street, The Dover Experience Museum, Kent
1994, Decorative Fish Frieze, Swimming Pool, Wadebridge Leisure Centre for NCDC
2002, Three Sand-Blast Panels with fibre-optic lights, New Bodmin Hospital, Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust
PAINTINGS/PRINTS
Blue Lobsters with lemon
During the later Lustre Pottery years Danka resumed printmaking, producing several Limited Editions for Chelsea Art Works and Christies Contemporary Art.
In 1993, for her exhibition at Gallery Tresco, Danka radically changed her way of working and started using soft pastels to create the large vibrant paintings that have become her signature. In the early years these paintings were of flowers, many grown especially in her garden. Wonderful single blooms (Camellias, Parrot Tulips, Peonies) or groups of smaller flowers (Snowdrops, Nasturtiums and Pansies) In time foodie subjects took over and now her major theme is predominantly fish and shellfish.
EXHIBITIONS
Danka has exhibited widely and has had many solo exhibitions.
(* indicates one woman show)
PRINTMAKING 1980-1993
1980, Theatre in the Round, Scarborough*
1986, Business Art Gallery, Royal Academy, London
1987, 1989, Ombersley Gallery, Worcestershire*
1989, Oxford Gallery, Oxford
1990, Bohun Gallery, Henley
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 1993-
1993, Gallery Tresco, Tresco, Isles of Scilly*
1997, 1998, 2002, Indian King Arts Centre, Camelford*
1995-1999, Beside the Wave Gallery, Falmouth
1998, Chapel Gallery, Saltram House, Plymouth*
1998, Chelsea Arts Fair, London
1999, Mid Cornwall Gallery, Par, Cornwall*
2000-2021 Rock Summer Exhibition*
2000, Juliet Gould Gallery, Mevagissey, Cornwall*
2001-2011, New Craftsman Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
2003, Trebah Gardens Gallery, Falmouth, Cornwall
2003, Hicks Gallery, Wimbledon, London
2008, Cotehele Gallery, Saltash, Cornwall *
The annual Rock Summer Exhibition is shared with jeweller and daughter Chloe Michell
Yellow Hibiscus
In the region (Cornwall) Dankas’ fish Art has a quality that trumps all others. Not for nothing has she been called the Rick Stein of Cornish Art.
— Michael Williams, Cornish Guardian Jan 2005
By closely observing any new bloom in her garden, Dankas’ wonderful pastel flower studies are true to the seasonal changes throughout the year. Growing unusual hybrids and interesting varieties of annuals and bulbs, her garden is a constant source of inspiration. Her spring shades of lime green and white will make way for the hot colours of summer as Dankas’ favourite parrot tulips and flamboyant nasturtiums fill her borders.
— Zoe Wild, Cornwall Today, Feb 2005