Pots Pots Pots

Clay lanterns

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Potter Jo

I’m excited to share an image of one of my finished clay lanterns! These have been initially thrown on the potter’s wheel, then painstakingly pierced using a variety of wooden tools.

When thinking about the surface design, it’s a two-fold thought process, not only planning an aesthetically pleasing surface, but also thinking about the shapes of light that will be cast on surrounding surfaced once a candle is placed beneath.

Each lantern has been stained with red iron oxide and manganese dioxide to create toasty, warm tones. Those who are familiar with my work will know I’m heavily influenced by natural forms and my immediate environment, and these luminaries do themselves echo intricate seeds and pods, glowing with the very essence of life.

Each lantern has a different form and surface decoration, making them totally unique. If you want to see my growing collection, you can take a look at my set on Flickr.

Let me know what you think!

Stoneware clay lantern

Candle luminaries

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Potter Jo

This is a super quick post to share a photo of what I’ve been making this week – luminaries, or candle holders.

Luminary pod

Having made some tiny maquettes back in 2010, I’ve enlarged this idea to encompass flickering candlelight. The ceramic piece is just part of the artistic process, having to also think about the beautiful shapes that are cast across the wall and table as a result of the intricate pattern.

The main reason for this return to an earlier idea is that I will be demonstrating at Living Crafts at Hatfield House on Friday 11th May and needed something I could make without my wheel.

These shapes are actually thrown on the wheel first, but luckily require a day or so to get to that leather hard stage, ready to be pricked, prodded and pierced. It’s this fine detailed work I will be doing at Hatfield House.

I think I’m simply going to coat the final pieces with oxides to accentuate these details, but for now the candles are drying out the interior a treat.

Anyone who has enjoyed carving a pumpkin would also enjoy this process, only you can’t make a hearty soup out of the remnants

Posted in Digswell Arts Trust Fellowship, Events - exhibitions and fairs, Latest from the pottery workshop, Surface decoration | 2 Comments

Berlin Bottles

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Potter Jo

Last week, I embarked on an epic road trip to Berlin. I as thrilled when walking past a junk shop in Muggelsee, I spotted two of these salt glazed wood fired bottles.

Looking good for their age - a pair of German bottles c.1900

Last time I visited Berlin, I bought a similar one at a flea market, so was thrilled to pick these up. Made around 1900, they were used to hold either beer or water. They have been thrown on a wheel and even bear the potter’s fingerprint at the neck!

Posted in Inspirations | 3 Comments

The pot that never was

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Potter Jo

I’ve been away this past week but quickly wanted to document this recent pot I made.

Sadly, it fell to the floor shortly after I took the photo, but it represents some new cylinders I have been working on which project some wonderful patterns when a candle flame flickers inside.

Gone but not forgotten

So in the week it took me to drive to Berlin and back, 1400 miles later, I’ve got the annoyance of dropping this pot out of my system and am ready to get back on the horse!

Posted in Latest from the pottery workshop, Surface decoration | Leave a comment

The map is not the territory

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Potter Jo

Maps as an abstraction of reality

Aside from my continuing exploration of seasonal pottery, I am also planning a conceptual piece inspired by a large amount of research I did as part of my Masters degree in 2004.

Reading for my MA in Cultural & Critical Studies, I became interested in the concept of Psychogeography, in particular the notion of maps as abstractions of reality.

Every day we experience a chaotic flow of new information and data which we filter and distort into our own manageable maps, influenced by our own filter of beliefs, values, memories and backgrounds.

With the assumption that everyone has a unique viewpoint of reality, there will inevitably be imbalances between the external world and our own personal maps.

Maps are simply an abstraction of the world which enable us to find our way in a given location or circumstance. These do not necessarily need to relate to an actual geographical landscape, but one of experience, or a personal collection of emotional landmarks and constellations.

Given the initial use of maps as navigational aids, I think clay, literally being the earth or territory, is the perfect material to develop such a piece, and I’m very excited to execute this idea.

Constellations of experience

Posted in Digswell Arts Trust Fellowship, Inspirations, Latest from the pottery workshop | Leave a comment

April’s Artist on File!

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Potter Jo

Artist on File - Jo Atherton

Just a quick post to share the news that I have been interviewed by Herts Visual Arts’ as their Artist on File for April!

You can read about my journey from treading the red carpet at the BAFTA Awards to visiting ancient tombs in the depths of China - all of which shaped my life as a potter today.

Posted in Digswell Arts Trust Fellowship, Latest from the pottery workshop | Leave a comment

Stevenage Old Town Open Gardens

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Potter Jo

Fern imprint in porcelain with red iron oxide

Here’s some news of another event I’m doing over the summer. Based around the historic Old Town of Stevenage and Holy Trinity Church, gardens are being opened up to the public to raise funds for the British Red Cross.

After taking part in the wonderful Christmas Tree Festival at Christmas, I was invited back to run a stall at Stevenage Old Town Open Gardens.

Gardens open for the event will range from a cottage garden to one designed by a five times Chelsea Gold Medal winner. Many contain interesting features such as pergolas, fruit and specimen trees, ponds, herbaceous borders, and even one with Belgian mechanical organs providing musical entertainment!

Given the large number of people who will be at this event with a love of gardening and plants, I’m planning on selling a sample of my recent work which has been inspired by local flora.

Activities on the day will include:

hog roast
refreshments at Holy Trinity Church
flower festival (Saturday and Sunday)
plants by Janet Hall
music by Mosaic Orchestra
Trinity Choir
historic bath house open near Church
pottery by Jo Atherton, potter, Digswell Arts Trust (that’s me!)

I will be donating a proportion of my sales to both the British Red Cross and Holy Trinity Church.

Come along on Saturday 1st July 2012 from 1pm to 5pm. More details are available on the Red Cross website.

Posted in Events - exhibitions and fairs | Leave a comment

Two little bits of news

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Potter Jo

Hatfield House - Image source: Wikipedia

Firstly, I’m excited to share the news that I’ll be demonstrating this year at Living Crafts, held at the beautiful Hatfield House on Friday 11th May 2012.

Living Crafts is the largest show of its kind in Europe, attracting thousands of visitors each day and is an event not to be missed. The range of crafts is enormous with literally hundreds of designer-makers from across the British Isles.

I’m in the process of co-ordinating the Herts Visual Arts stand for the county Ceramics Group where you’ll be able to see a selection of Hertfordshire potters and ceramic artists demonstrating their craft.

For your chance to win to win tickets to the event, simply register on their website.

* * *

The second piece of news is also Herts Visual Arts related.

Earlier this month I was selected to be April’s Artist on File and was interviewed by the lovely Clare Kendal Bate. The article should be published over the next few days, and as soon as it is, I’ll share a link here.

This is the first pottery-related interview I’ve done, and it was an incredibly useful experience to take time out and actually reflect on my journey, particularly over the last twelve months.

I can’t wait for you to read it!

Posted in Events - exhibitions and fairs | Leave a comment

Reading between the lines

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Potter Jo

During March, I made the decision to try and retain as much evidence of the making process on the surface of my pottery. Up until now, I have had a tendency to try and smooth off the surface, removing all those little marks and gestures which are all part of the pot’s story.

In a recent post, I described how I’m now leaving the throwing lines on the surface of my pieces, kind of like an unavoidable statement that my pots have been made by hand. Recent rants about mass produced pottery show how important this is to me.

Having made a couple of bottles which proudly display these lines, I started to play around with the idea of how I may take things further. I’m currently drying out a bucket of ash which I collected from the fireplace over winter, having burnt wood from the local verges and hedgerows, trying to keep things tethered to the environment in which they were made.

Developing some ash glazes from local wood should highlight these throwing lines beautifully, especially if I can achieve the runny dribbles that are so typical of this type of glaze.

On my morning walk today I collected some twigs which were just on the brink of bursting into blossom. I thought these sprigs of burgeoning life impressed over the surface of my pots would be the perfect organic pattern; a complimentary imprint over the uniformity of my throwing lines.

Plants impressed on a thrown bottle

The spontaneity of life pressed into the controlled method of thrown pottery brings together two cycles – the cycle of the seasons and the spinning of the potters wheel, all intrinsically held together by the the earth, from which life springs forth.

Posted in Seasonal change, Surface decoration | Leave a comment

Throwing lines

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Potter Jo

Retaining throwing lines

I generally smooth off the surface of a pot once I have finished throwing. Today, I had just made this chunky bottle (yes, I managed another 12 inches) and started to question why I actually choose to remove these lines.

Generic, manufactured pottery does not give away any clue as to its origins. There is no betrayal as to the techniques that have been used. The mass produced pot could very well have dropped from the sky, offering us no clues about its maker.

This got me thinking about what my pottery says about me. The choice I made to become a potter was to delight in those techniques that have been used for thousands of years and as I feel those processes between my fingers, I am always thinking about how I can incorporate part of myself into my pottery.

So rather than erasing part of the story, smoothing out those lines which indicate how the clay was shaped into the resulting form, I thought, why not leave them in? They show the imprints of my fingertips and reveal how the pot was made.

That I have turned my back on a conventional career to live the life of a potter, the very least I can do is to leave these process clues in, as it’s all part of the story. My love of the creative process and the tactile nature of clay is the very reason I have chosen this path, so the throwing lines will stay.

Posted in Methods and techniques, Surface decoration | 3 Comments

Inner turmoil

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Potter Jo

Incorporating the seasons in clay

I’ve been feeling under pressure recently, from the worst possible source – that little voice inside my head. This is perhaps the worst kind of unrest, as I’m finding it hard to escape the expectations I’ve been heaping upon myself.

There are plenty of local exhibitions and fairs around at the moment, which I feel under pressure to participate in. I feel tormented, split between applying, (perhaps more so to prove to myself that I can be accepted for such things) and making the choice to wait until I have formulated and executed my ideas properly, to a standard I’m wholly satisfied with.

At the moment, I’m formulating designs and shapes which really hold true to my philosophy. I don’t want to stray from this, nor do I want to show work until I am satisfied with the effects I have created.

I feel I’m getting close to executing my desire to ground my work in a season and place through a strong connection to the English countryside. I just must be patient and wait a little longer until I’ve discovered the best manner in which to really showcase the beauty of Nature.

I am increasingly starting to wonder whether it is actually more detrimental to show or sell work I am not that excited about, than not to exhibit at all. I want to be known for pottery which is totally unique, and a concept which I have nurtured and grown myself; a style which is bold and confident, whilst also being recognisable as my own.

To bow out of such events and opportunities when my peers are excitedly submitting work is hard, but I’d rather feel satisfied within myself, rather than showing work just because I feel I ought to.

The events will come round again next year, as will the seasons upon which my work relies, and by then I’ll be a little further on in my creative journey.

Posted in Latest from the pottery workshop, Seasonal change | 4 Comments

What annoys me

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Potter Jo

Drink your bland tea from a bland mug, made in a bland teapot in your bland kitchen

Just look at this miserable excuse for a teapot.

I get really cross when I see cheap, mass produced pottery. How can any potter compete with such a low price for such a generic mediocre piece of tat?

I’m upset when I overhear people saying handmade pottery is expensive and over priced. This is the reason. People have no idea the effort that goes into making a pot from scratch and assume that this is an appropriate price to pay for such an item.

“Miss it, miss out”, shout the gaudy, insipid stickers.

Misery.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

More hedgerow plants

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Potter Jo

Hedgerow plants found during February 2012

Posted in Seasonal change | Leave a comment

Best foot forward

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Potter Jo

Cylinder practice

This month, I’m determined to throw a cylinder over a foot high.

I’ve been stuck at twelve inches for some time now and am determined to put one foot in front of the other, get a foot in the door….okay, okay, I’ve exhausted all my foot metaphors.

What I’m saying is that I’m dedicating time to practising throwing larger vessels in March.

To date, my tallest pots have also been by far the ugliest.

I made something today, about 15 inches tall, which I suppose you could call a bottle but it was foul. Really foul. It was off centre, but not consistently off centre. It looked intoxicated. The various flabby ripples and bulges likened it to an overweight, desperate woman on a night out in Camden; drunken and shameless, leaving little to the imagination. This clearly isn’t a good look.

I can confidently throw an even, symmetrical cylinder up to about 12 inches tall, but would ideally like to increase this. I’ve seen cylinders thrown well over two feet with ease on YouTube, so it’s time to pull the reclaim bucket near and focus.

So with my new state of the art sponge on a stick, I really have no excuse. It’s time for some fancy footwork. (That one really was terrible, I apologise).

Posted in Latest from the pottery workshop, Methods and techniques | 8 Comments

Rolling the rim

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Potter Jo

Rim rolling (not to be confused with Rick Rolling), is not as easy as it looks.

I quickly learnt that it’s a sure fire way to ruin a perfectly good bowl in around twelve seconds. Still, as with anything, practice and perseverance do eventually pay off.

I found the following video by Simon Leach particularly useful, especially the exercise of throwing a cylinder and repeatedly rolling the rim until you run out of clay.

I personally think that rolling the rim on a bowl makes it look complete. You can easily see that the final form has a definite beginning and end, made with a specific style in mind.

In Leach’s A Potter’s Book, he speaks about the importance of avoiding making ‘self conscious pots’. I feel that the rolled rim is a move towards super confident bowls, bowls without a complex, or any other personal hang-ups requiring therapy. So here’s to happier, harmonious pots

You’ll see from my kiln load yesterday that there are one or two confident (some may say arrogant) pots lurking amongst their slightly more self conscious siblings.

The queue for the kiln

Posted in Methods and techniques | 1 Comment

Happy birthday to me

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Potter Jo

Happy birthday to me, a photo by oakislandtreasure on Flickr.

I know, I know, the wheel needs cleaning, but not before throwing some birthday pots and messing it up for the first time as a 33 year old!

Check out my state of the art sponge on a stick!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The wheel and the web

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Potter Jo

Herts Visual Arts Forum

Before pottery took over my life, I worked for ten years as a web designer and web editor in London. My career saw me working on websites for the British Library, Cancer Research UK, University College London and Girl Guiding UK. There was even a time I enjoyed a dalliance with treasure hunting!

So, these days I spend most of my time throwing clay around but I’m still passionate about the internet, the conversations it enables and friendships it makes possible.

I’m keen to share my knowledge and experience and recently began volunteering as the Online Media Consultant for Herts Visual Arts (HVA).

I’m excited to be helping HVA improve their online presence using all the fabulous free resources that exist out there. In turn, I hope to help the artists of Hertfordshire improve their online presence and also report on how new technologies are helping artists take their work to the world.

Last month I began writing a column for the monthly newsletter, and thought it may be worth mentioning it here for any other artists or web monkeys out there who might find it interesting.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Fern imprints

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Potter Jo

I thought I’d share a photo of the recent pots I decorated by impressing their surface with ferns. Once bisque fired, and the leaves vaporised, a sharp impression of the plant was left in the surface of the pot. They were then subjected to what can only be described as a ‘bed bath’ of red iron oxide wash to highlight the intricate structure of the leaves.

I decided to leave the surface of the pot unglazed. I wanted the delicate patterns to contrast with the rough, clumsy nature of a manmade pot, thus highlighting the natural beauty of the fern’s structure.

Pot with fern imprints

I’m really pleased with the level of detail and the oxide colour, however, am not sure whether the pot actually looks finished. Although it was my intention for it to look quite rough and rudimentary, I’m wondering whether a glaze over the top may improve the final result. Still, nothing like a few ideas and suggestions to get the kiln fired up again! I may even sneak a few into the anagama wood kiln in August, just to see what happens. Watch this space.

For more images of these pots, you can take a look at my Oxides set on Flickr.

Posted in Seasonal change, Surface decoration | 1 Comment

Seeds of change

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Potter Jo

As I continue to explore the themes of naturally occurring patterns and incorporate them into my pottery, I am finding that I am increasingly dependent on the seasons.

No sooner do I find a wonderful hedgerow plant to ground my work in a season and place, then I discover its place in the calendar has passed and it is nowhere to be found until next year.

Plate with winter grasses

Frustrating as this is, I am enjoying learning more about the botany of my local area and without realising it, am giving my work a strong theme of transience.

This is all the more fascinating to me, as now potting full time, I am working to a different pattern and my day is punctuated by cues, very different to those I was living by in London.

Turning my back on the busy city way of life, I am noticing more of the intricacies of nature and am not ashamed to say it has awakened something within me, something I imagine not so different from our ancestors, reading the landscape, looking for clues which would signal the arrival of spring.

Summer meadows - every season has something to offer

It is this strong connection to the English countryside I am very excited about, already planning work for the late summer when I know the many complex grasses will be rife in Harrold Country Park and the poppy seed heads will be ready to gather by the Great Ouse in Odell.

Posted in Inspirations, Seasonal change, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Plants and oxides

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Potter Jo

I’ve been working with red iron oxide this week and surface decoration using plants. This is a close up photo of a tile I’ve made featuring the impression of a fern.

Fern tile

I’ve repeated this decorative technique on a number of jars that I threw last weekend. They’re currently being fired ahead of being washing in red iron oxide, so I’m really hoping I can achieve the delicate level of detail I’ve achieved on this tile.

Posted in Latest from the pottery workshop, Surface decoration | 2 Comments

Working from home

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Potter Jo

Pottery wheel - every home should have one

A quick update to let you know that my pottery wheel is now up and running at home! After buying it on eBay towards the end of last year, it took time to make a few repairs to the mechanism then obtain some bats, but thanks to my dad’s engineering mind and potter friend Tim’s woodworking skills, I am now making pots at home!

The cottage is still a work in progress, so for now I can enjoy the luxury of the wheel in what will become the living room. It is destined for the outbuilding, but as this is currently full of pieces of kitchen we’ve ripped out, I’ll just have to suffer the comfort of my wheel next to the radiator as the snow falls outside. Bliss!

Here’s a photo of the very first pots I threw on the wheel, and I’m guessing the first pots that have been thrown in our cottage since it was built in 1600!

Pots from my first throwing session in Harrold

Posted in Latest from the pottery workshop | Leave a comment

Oxides and imprints

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Potter Jo

Testing plant imprints

For some time, I’ve been creating tiles and pots which involve imprinting clay with actual plants. In particular, I’m taken with the formation of ferns as they offer intricate patters whilst being robust enough to stand up to the force of impressing them into the clay surface.

Imprinting the plants into clay do not pose a problem, however at the glazing stage, finding the proper finish to do the pattern justice is challenging.

I’ve found that using a traditional glaze mutes the delicate fern imprint. To combat this, I’ve been working with oxide washes which have worked really nicely to highlight the relief of the plant imprints.

Interested to see whether this will bleed through glaze, I have prepared a collection of these circular discs, all washed with red iron oxide then covered in a thin layer of glaze.

I really like the raw finish of the simple oxide, so if the glazes work, it will be a bonus. Otherwise, I’ll enjoy working with the rich browns of red iron oxide as we see in this photo.

Posted in Glazing experiments | Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day porcelain hearts

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Potter Jo

The nice people at Palace Green Gallery, Hatfield House have asked me to create some porcelain hearts for Valentine’s Day, after my Christmas snowflakes proved so popular.

I thought I’d share this photo of the first batch I made today. I really loved making these hearts nestled in front of the fire in our cottage. It must be one of my favourite ways to spend a Sunday.

Porcelain hearts

So here are the hearts, drying out on the windowsill in the afternoon sunshine. They will have two firings – the first to 1000 degrees before being glazed, then to a second temperature of 1250 degrees. Once finished, they will be hung on pretty red gingham ribbon in time for Valentine’s Day.

Posted in Latest from the pottery workshop | Leave a comment

2012: Winter: Ex

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Potter Jo

Happy New Year!

This is my first blog post of 2012, and I thought I’d update you on my recent work in the pottery world.

Despite a variety of domestic disasters involving drain rods and bad smells (don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details), I have managed to keep potting in less than creative surroundings.

Grid of handmade tiles impressed with real plants and seeds

Last night was the opening of the Winter exhibition at the New Maynard Gallery in Welwyn Garden City – 2012: Winter: Ex.

I have two cabinets featuring my work. I chose to display a selection of my barnacle bottles, a collection of tiles, impressed with a variety of plants and seeds, plus my wood fired pots from Nic Collins’ firing course in Devon last year.

Wood fired pottery

The exhibition will be on now until 18th February 2012, so if you’re in the area, why not drop in, grab a coffee and take a look at the artwork on display.

I feel the exhibition has made me consolidate the key themes I was working with during the first year of my Fellowship at Digswell Arts Trust, and it is now time to move on to some new ideas for 2012.

My work is still very much interwoven with the natural world and I’ve already started planning ways to build on this with some much larger pieces.

Posted in Events - exhibitions and fairs | Leave a comment

Yuletide hearth firing

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Potter Jo

Hearth test run

We’re about to have our first fire at the cottage. We’ve got two fireplaces, one of which is a big inglenook with a huge grate – perfect for a Christmas experimental firing!

The chimney sweep has been, the logs have dried out, the chestnuts are stocked up and the pots are ready.

Tomorrow we’ll be stoking it up properly, with the little pots nestled in the embers.

Posted in Kilns and firings | 2 Comments

Clay lanterns

Candle luminaries

Berlin Bottles

The pot that never was

The map is not the territory

April’s Artist on File!

Stevenage Old Town Open Gardens

Two little bits of news

Reading between the lines

Throwing lines

Inner turmoil

What annoys me

More hedgerow plants

Best foot forward

Rolling the rim

Happy birthday to me

The wheel and the web

Fern imprints

Seeds of change

Plants and oxides

Working from home

Oxides and imprints

Valentine’s Day porcelain hearts

2012: Winter: Ex

Yuletide hearth firing

Recent Posts

Categories

My pottery photo gallery