by Jon Williams | Feb 4, 2022 | Artist, Experiments, Outside, Surface Quality, Work in Progress
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...
by Jon Williams | May 16, 2021 | Experiments, Interactive Art
Sit’s nicely in the palm this one. Love the markings produced by smoke permeating the layers of clay resist.
by Jon Williams | Apr 21, 2021 | Experiments, Surface Quality
A beautiful galaxy appeared in the slip bucket lid!!!
by Jon Williams | Apr 18, 2021 | Artist, Experiments, Interactive Art, Work in Progress
interactive, interactive art, leather hard, rocking pots, thrown and assembled, wip, work in...
by Jon Williams | Apr 11, 2021 | Experiments, Surface Quality
by Jon Williams | Apr 7, 2021 | Experiments, Work in Progress
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!! ???
by Jon Williams | Apr 2, 2021 | Experiments, Garden Sculpture, Interactive Art, Outside, Surface Quality, Work in Progress
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...
by Jon Williams | Mar 21, 2021 | Artist, Experiments, Work in Progress
Somewhere in this blackened sagger is a little burnt offering in need of wire wool & wax tlc!
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 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...
by Jon Williams | Jun 30, 2020 | Experiments, Outside
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...
by Jon Williams | Jun 23, 2020 | Artist, Exhibitions, Experiments, installation, Interactive Art, Outside, Social Engagement
https://jonwilliamspottery.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/QVUN7245.mp4 Tree Pringles! The latest incarnation of x30 or so wheel thrown disks. They made their debut at Fresh Air Sculpture Exhibition a few years back as a purely sculptural piece, stacked one on...
by Jon Williams | Jun 15, 2020 | Experiments, Work in Progress
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...
by Jon Williams | Jun 9, 2020 | Experiments, Outside
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...
by Jon Williams | May 10, 2020 | Experiments
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...