About Jo Davies
Jo Davies is a ceramicist specialising in wheel-throwing porcelain.
Her practice includes hand-making a fine porcelain design range, lighting and unique objects. Her individual approach to wheel-thrown ceramics, where high-fired porcelain often appears paradoxically to be fresh off the wheel, balances softness with rigidity, smoothness with weight and tactility.
All Jo Davies Ceramics work is wheel-thrown by Jo; from the smallest cup to a large, unique vessel, every object is always an individual item. Each piece acts as a reflection of the shape of Jo Davies’ hands as well as her intentions as a ceramic designer. The enjoyment of the making process and the continuing development of an evolving creativity are what drive her practice.
As a Royal College of Art MA graduate, she exhibits internationally and has worked with, amongst others, the National Portrait Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Hepworth Wakefield, Somerset House, Heals and the National Trust. Her work is held at the Contemporary Ceramics Centre in Bloomsbury, alongside other stockists, and the Cheongju International Craft Competition holds her work in their permanent collection. She has also led the designs for ceramics collections for Mulberry and Union Coffee.
Her practice has been supported by the Crafts Council and Arts Council England. She splits her time between her workshop in East London and her home studio in Hereford.
Philosophy
“I believe in Making as a vehicle for expression, for the articulation of thoughts that cannot be expressed through language.
For the last 17 years I have specialised in wheel-throwing porcelain after a training that began 25 years ago. Porcelain objects are renowned for their beauty and delicacy but, as a maker, it is an amazing material to work with because of its elastic and fluid feel as a clay. These material qualities lend themselves to methods of making not possible with other clays; whilst its qualities after kiln-firing, such as translucency, allow it to glow in strong light.
From the smallest cup to a large, unique vessel, I make by hand all work that has my Maker’s Mark. Each piece is always an individual item: a reflection of the shape of my hands as well as my intentions as a ceramic designer.”
"Masterclass with Jo Davies" by Layton Thompson with thanks to Ceramic Review Magazine. 2015
Please see classes taught by Jo Davies at her studio in East London here on the classes page