Jon Williams
Studio Pottery
About
I was born in 1969 and as a child loved drawing and messing about with clay in the garden. At the age of fifteen I encountered the head of Swindon Art College and in a blinding revelation, realised that ‘art’ could be a job!
After completing an art foundation course in Swindon, I studied at Bath Spa University (formally Bath College of Higher Education) my experience culminating in a 1st class degree in Ceramics and 3D Design.
Whilst at Art School I met my future wife and fellow potter Sarah Monk and in 1994 we moved to Herefordshire and founded Eastnor Pottery. Sarah and I continue to live and work on the idyllic Herefordshire Eastnor Castle Estate offering remarkable potter’s wheel experiences alongside making our own ceramics. We have three children in their late twenties all working in the creative industries… but strangely, not in clay!
Play
The concept of play is at the centre of everything. I strive to make things in fired clay that are as interactive as the soft material itself. My ceramics are designed to be handled, shaken, drummed upon or submersed in water! I’ve even collaborated with a digital sound artist to produce a series of ceramic musical bees. These were touch sensitive and emitted a ‘buzz’ when stroked. Each bee possessed a different note so the whole installation could be played like a key-board – a bee-board if you will!
The Potters Wheel
All my work starts its life on the potter’s wheel. Initially, I was drawn to the wheel as a way of speedily interpreting line drawings in my sketchbook as physical objects – sketching in 3D. Those first ‘pots’ were incredibly heavy and crude but, more importantly, the right shape. Later, the technique got under my skin, into my blood – I’m addicted and adore the soft, sensual curves achieved by throwing clay on the potter’s wheel.