Contemporary Ceramics gallery and shop exhibits the greatest collectable names in British ceramics along with the most up and coming artists of today. Our distinguished makers are all carefully selected members of the Craft Potters Association.
All of our makers are members of the Craft Potters Association and each of them have a story to tell.
Jude undertook a foundation course at Somerset College of Art & Design, then gained a Dip. AD at Gloucester College of Art & Design in Fine Art (Sculpture with Painting). At art school, Jude worked mainly in bronze. She married John Jelfs in 1972 and became a potter. Jude and John live and work at the Cotswold Pottery, located in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, UK.
Marcus produces expressive functional stoneware and porcelain rooted in the Leach Hamada tradition. He is also greatly inspired by the Irish landscape.
Patia studied at Harrow College of Further Education 1986 – 1988 and subsequently spent a further two years at Cardiff School of Art and Design from 1998 – 1990. During her time at Harrow and Cardiff she was tutored by Mick Casson, which after her graduation led to an invitation by Mick and Sheila Casson to join the team at Wobage in 1990. This is where Patia continues to work today in her own workshop making slip decorated earthenware and high-fired ash and feldspathic glazed porcelain. Patia was made a Fellow of the CPA in 2015, and has exhibited in the UK, Japan and Europe.
John comes from a family of engineers going back several generations, so it was natural for him to follow suit. However, he made an unenthusiastic engineer, and after several years teaching he went back to college and gained a place on the 3D course at Manchester College of Art where he was introduced to clay for the first time.
Jennifer works from her studio on the edge of Dartmoor in South Devon - a quiet space to develop her practice. She makes vessels inspired by ancient potters who remained closely attuned to their natural environment.
Vessels are hand-built from black, red, or white stoneware clays, using pinch and coil methods to preserve every mark and impression in the soft material. Using only a few simple tools, the process is slow and rhythmic. Surfaces are coated with thin layers of slips and glazes. The pattern left by the pinching process is accentuated as the glaze pools into the hollows. The colours are subtle, with occasional flashes of vibrant colour, all to be found within nature’s palette. Pieces may be fired several times, until a particular quality of colour and texture is achieved.
Richard grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, a city with a long history of ceramics. Richard graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1996 with a BA(Hons) in Ceramics and Design, focussing on reduction firing and oriental ceramics. He set up his first pottery in south London, specialising in blue and white porcelain.
