Throwback Thursday: Sensational Clay
Sensational Clay was my solo show and a culmination of many months of work, exploring ideas of invention, interaction and participation with clay. All the works in the exhibition were inspired by the five senses: touch, taste, sound, smell and sight. Every item...
Incidental slip effects
My slow burning, smoke firing journey continues…One of the most satisfying outcomes has been the incidental surfaces and effects that appear when I’ve been getting creative applying a slip resist to the surface of my bisque fired ware. In an attempt to echo the...
A smaller smoke fired snail
Sit's nicely in the palm this one. Love the markings produced by smoke permeating the layers of clay resist.
Snails rocking out
A family of ceramic snails rocking out across the studio floor. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jon Williams...
Fish on a stick
Not sure what's the collective term for a pot full of ceramic fish!? This shoal will be swimming at the magnificent Sculpture at Kingham Lodge exhibition. 1-9 May 2021. Set in 5 acres of beautiful grounds, over 400 sculptures are displayed as you would like to...
Far far away…
A beautiful galaxy appeared in the slip bucket lid!!!
Blue shell
interactive, interactive art, leather hard, rocking pots, thrown and assembled, wip, work in progress
Ancient oak slab
This gnarly 'ol slab of oak has been gently decaying in the Pottery garden for the last 10 years or so. It was initially used to display several of my discovery pots - lidded, thrown cylinders containing fresh clay and a note encouraging the 'discoverer' to make...
Thorny Charcoal
These thorny sticks of charcoal are an inspiring bi-product of recent smoke firing and sagger experiments. They originated as garden waste, pruned from my father in law’s rose bush and contributed to the marks and effects on this little pot. I’m marveling at the...
Sagging saggers
I think its time to retire these ol’ saggers! #kintsugi anyone? Also... not sure what the shiny black stuff is on the inside the one on the left - tar or creosote maybe? Whatever it is I like it!! ???
Snail pace!
Taking time to appreciate the subtle effects of layering and wiping away slip decoration.... At the moment, these snail sculptures are at the leather hard stage (my favorite!) and still have to dry for a couple of weeks before going in the kiln. Once they've...
Winter walk to work
As we head into Spring, I thought I'd share a few photographs taken on our winter commute! We're extremely fortunate to live and work on the idyllic Eastnor Castle Estate at the southern end of the Malvern Hills in rural Herefordshire. Our home and studio are...
Out of the ashes
Somewhere in this blackened sagger is a little burnt offering in need of wire wool & wax tlc!
Antennae
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, bugs...
Potting in a Pandemic
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 all...
Childhood inspiration
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...
Contemporary Ceramics Shop
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...
Slab building
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 particularly...
Smoke fired bee
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 firing and...
Proof of frost damage
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...
Eastnor Pottery in the snow
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 designs,...
Learning to fly
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 Museum...
Portrait of an 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 work...
Saggers
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 of you...
Milk Chocolate Bees
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 whole....
Smoke fired pottery
In an attempt to add further depth to my ceramic surfaces, I've been messing about with fire in the Pottery garden. I had dabbled with smoke firing once before in my role as an artist in residence at Evesham Nursery School. I have very fond memories of working with...
Giant Pringles in a pear tree!
Tree Pringles! The latest incarnation of x30 or so wheel thrown disks. They made their debut at Fresh Air Sculpture...
Disintegration pots
These poor little fellas have been thrown, slipped, cut, stretched and pulled apart on the potter's wheel! I'm enjoying seeing how far I can push the material with the aim to capture or preserve the point of disintegration. It's a tricky balance to strike and I...
Just for fun!
Sometimes it's just nice to see what the stuff can do!
Quite like it as it is!
Something I greatly value about the making process is the emergence of an unexpected outcome. The potter's wheel offers lots of potential for a creative 'surprise' and I always try to stay alert to the 'happy accident'. The slightest change in hand position or shift...
Sonic Bees
Throwback Thursday: Electro Bees in the Black Country Aug 2016 Back in the depths of Winter 2015 Jon was approached by Creative Black Country to contribute a work of art for a field of ceramic flowers, being ‘grown’ by community groups in West Bromwich and the...
Making Together
Throwback Thursday: Making Together at Birmingham Settlement 2018 This was a year-long programme of inter-generational making based activity initiated by Craftspace and took place at Birmingham Settlement. I was one of six makers who got to work with early-years...
Thrown and Altered
Really enjoyed making these three! They were produced at a time when I was busy experimenting with process and materials, using all sorts of clay bodies and firing temperatures. I worked intuitively and quickly, blow torching freshly thrown vessels on the potter's...
Very Happy Making
Throwback Thursday: Happy Craft Play Project 2013 - 2014 Outside learning with nursery aged children in the depths of winter - chilly, great fun and a fine example of partnership and collaborative working! Just look at the individuals and organisations involved:...
Hereford Ceramic Sound Trail
Throwback Thursday: Hereford Ceramic Sound Trail 2015 Having been inspired by the success of my solo exhibition Sensational Clay, I was keen to explore in more detail some of the threads I'd been developing for the show - particularly the sonic possibilities. I was...
Pottery bunny
Never been asked to make a pottery rabbit before! Chuffed to be asked by the lovely peeps at Puzzle Wood in The Forest of Dean to be included in their Great Puzzlewood Easter (virtual) Pottery Trail!
Water Play Ceramics at Leamington Spa Museum & Art Gallery
A couple of pots from the Museum's ceramic collection that inspired Jon to make his interactive, water play ceramics for the exhibition MAKING HISTORIES currently on show at Leamington Spa Museum and Art Gallery in Warwickshire. The first two photos are of a large,...
Making Histories Exhibition available online
Jon’s been busy making new work for an exhibition entitled ‘Making Histories’ scheduled to have opened 20 March 2020 at Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum. He was one of seven contemporary ceramic artists from the across the Midlands, invited to respond to the...
New Website
We are pleased to say that we have a new website!
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!
