David Jones
!["Both Sides". [“T”material/porcelain Wheel-thrown and altered raku] 35x28x28](https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/49/DJ1-400x400.jpg)
!["Lain". [“T”material/porcelain Wheel-thrown and altered raku 33x20x20]](https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/49/DJ2-400x400.jpeg)
!["Font". [“T”material/porcelain Wheel-thrown and altered raku] 14x16x12](https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/49/DJ3-400x400.jpeg)
!["Throne Bowl". [“T”material/porcelain Wheel-thrown and altered raku] 26x17x15](https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/49/DJ4-400x400.jpg)
!["Crushed together" [“T”material/porcelain Wheel-thrown and altered raku] 24x23x19](https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/49/DJ5-400x400.jpeg)
!["Impact". [“T”material/porcelain Wheel-thrown and altered raku] 24x23x21](https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/49/DJ6-400x400.jpg)
Media: Ceramics
Biography
The Raku-fired pot can be read as an object that carries ideas. Its history commences with the Japanese tradition of tea-bowls (chawan). I have been influenced by the ways they were handled – not just in terms of ownership from potter to Tea aficionado, but also the stories they embodied that manifested during the tea drinking ritual which were central to their meaning. In this work there is only a passing reference to function; instead of tea, they now carry meaning and ideas.
The marks on the surface of the clay reference the indentations and creases inscribed on the human body gathered in living. They also allude to some of the damage that has been inflicted on peoples in wars, including the histories of my own family.
The glaze is a terribly thin skin that clothes the body of the pot (which was penetrated with hard tools in the manufacturing process, when the clay was soft); those traces remain, even if the final aesthetic is one of resolution and beauty. The two pieces fit together in a variety of permutations, symbolising the desolation of conflict, but also hinting at possible reconstruction after destruction or the act of impact itself. It can be read as playful and horrific. Destructive and re-uniting.
David Jones was awarded his PhD by Manchester Metropolitan University.
His undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Literature was awarded by Warwick University.
He is an elected Fellow of the Crafts Potter Association.
He was a Senior Academic in the Ceramics Department at Wolverhampton University for thirty years.
From 2017-2026 he was the elected representative on the global Council of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) representing the UK, Ireland and Benelux countries.
His work is represented in many international collections and he has curated and juried international exhibitions.
He has presented many papers at international conferences;
he is the author of two books that examine the meaning of clay and firing.
Get in touch
Contact
davidjonesraku@lineone.net
Website: https://davidjonesceramics.com
Summer Art Weeks Venue
David Jones
