by Jon Williams | Mar 14, 2021 | Artist, Outside, Work in Progress
I love making these!!! – so much fun to produce! ?? They start life on the potters wheel as thin, solid cones. Texture is added whilst the clay spins and each one finally curled from the tip down. They’re insect antennae, added to the bodies of sculptural bees,...
by Jon Williams | Mar 7, 2021 | Social Engagement
The unscheduled break from all the social engagement and classes has provided a golden opportunity to develop my ceramic work. In fact, the lockdown hush fondly reminds me of the time Sarah and myself moved to Eastnor – 26 years ago. At that point in our careers...
by Jon Williams | Mar 4, 2021 | Artist, Exhibitions
Contemporary Ceramics asked me to provide a short piece of writing to accompany the work I sent them. It was suggested I comment on how I got into working with clay: As a child I loved drawing and messing about with mud. We lived on the edge of a large housing estate...
by Jon Williams | Feb 24, 2021 | Artist, Exhibitions, Interactive Art
I have a collection of bee and bug shakers for sale at Contemporary Ceramics in London The gallery is the shop window for the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain (CPA) and exhibits the greatest collectible names in British ceramics alongside the most up and...
by Jon Williams | Feb 21, 2021 | Experiments, Work in Progress
Although I’m a thrower, I do enjoy the challenge of working with other pottery techniques. These slabbed constructions are ceramic bases, designed to support a sculpture on a metal rod. That said, I reckon they look pretty cool as stand alone pieces. I...
by Jon Williams | Feb 14, 2021 | Exhibitions, Experiments, Interactive Art
I recently made a selection of high fired bee and bug shakers for a gallery in London. The high temperature makes for a satisfying ‘ring’ when the rattle is shaken. As I was lowering the last beastie into the kiln, I decided on a whim to save it from the...
by Jon Williams | Feb 7, 2021 | Artist, Experiments, Outside
It’s amazing how a terracotta pot can survive outside in the garden for decades. Season after season it is resilient against the very worst the British Winter can hurl at it. And then, all of a sudden, it quite literally falls to pieces. Frost damage occurs when...
by Jon Williams | Jan 31, 2021 | Artist, Social Engagement
Our studio Eastnor Pottery looking beautiful in the January snow. The Pottery is located near the Malvern Hills on the idyllic Herefordshire Eastnor Castle Estate. I share the space with my wife and fellow potter Sarah Monk. When we’re not working on our own...
by Jon Williams | Jan 28, 2021 | Artist, Interactive Art
I have a collection of bee and bug shakers making their way to Contemporary Ceramics Centre in London. The Gallery is the shop window for The Craft Potter’s Association of Great Britain and is ideally situated in the heart of the capital, opposite The British...
by Jon Williams | Jan 23, 2021 | Artist
Over the years I’ve collaborated with many talented and creative photographers to document my ceramics and social engagement practice. My current go to professional is George Nash AKA Beyond The Beaten Path. George is communicative, super efficient and fun to...
by Jon Williams | Jan 21, 2021 | Experiments, Outside, Work in Progress
Whilst experimenting with smoke fired pottery on the BBQ last Spring, I found a lot of my pots developed hair-line cracks and fissures due to the thermal shock of the flames licking the ware. There was only one course of action – make myself some saggers! Those...
by Jon Williams | Jan 14, 2021 | Artist, Experiments, Interactive Art, Work in Progress
I’ve been developing more rattles and shakers, this time in the shape of bugs and bees. Each little beastie is made entirely from sections created on the potter’s wheel. The separate elements are joined together and smoothed to give the appearance of being...
