Oct 17

Oct 17 Kiln Diary #24

Jack Doherty

2023, Kiln Diary

“The ceramic forms I love the most play an ambiguous role in our daily lives. Their functional ancestry embodies a sense of knowledge and a unique code of reference. The contemporary forms I make reflect their changing role in our modern life.”

February marked the first events of the year and opened with a solo exhibition at Maud & Mabel Gallery in London. The collection made for, Vocation, was a snapshot of my practice over the last few years. The spare minimalist shapes were based on ancient pot forms and functions.

The ceramic forms I love the most play an ambiguous role in our daily lives. Their functional ancestry embodies a sense of knowledge and a unique code of reference. The contemporary forms I make reflect their changing role in our modern life.

Their surfaces show the range of colour and texture that I have achieved through my exploration of three materials. My firing technique can produce a palette ranging from icy crystalline white to an intense metallic black marked with flashes of colour and scored with texture where the soda has etched its way through the outer layer of copper infused slip.

VOCATION at Maud & Mabel Gallery opened on the 24th of February.

COLLECT 2023 was the prestigious Crafts Council Art Fair, held at Somerset House from 3-5th March. Collect is the leading international event for contemporary craft and design, showcasing exceptional work, diverse skills and disciplines by artist makers curated by forty specialist galleries.

I am pleased that my work is being represented this year by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland in their exhibition curated by Billie Muraben. My Guardian Vessel, Winter Sky, was displayed alongside a collection of selected Irish artists based on themes including ecology and the potential for beauty in the everyday.

Back in the studio, the first pieces were fired in the new soda kiln at the beginning of February. It was a tense and exciting event, but everything worked as it should! I am now looking forward to putting it through its paces to develop my Spring Collection.

If you find yourself in Cornwall there is always a selection of our favourite pieces available from our Trinity House gallery in Penzance. All are welcome to visit the studio but as I’m often working at the kiln site please be sure to make an appointment in advance so we can meet you personally.