Jack/John has a B.A. degree in anthropology, an M.A. degree in archaeology and a Ph D degree in anthropology.  He came to ceramics through his archaeological research.  He was given the task of analyzing the hundreds of thousands of pot sherds from the ancient city of Meroe (located on the east bank of the Nile 120 north of modern-day Khartoum in the Sudan.  This research has been published in a number of articles in professional journals and the final report of the Meroe excavations.)  He reasoned that if he was going to analyze pottery he should learn how to make pottery.  His basic learning was done with Dave Settles at Ceramics Canada and Fairview Studios. Over the last 25 years he has taken numerous pottery courses and workshops, hence, his technical skills are adequate but it is his anthropological view of ceramics and the world that make his work unique.

            People have been making pottery for more than 8,000 years.  In western civilization, over the past few hundred years, pottery-making has fallen on tough times trying to compete with mass-production pottery factories.  During the 19^th century pottery craftsmen were turned into depressed, ill-paid, sickly labourers.  In the early 20^th century, there was a pottery revival which led to the development of many small, independent pottery studios which we see today but which now are under great threat.  Asian pottery factories make excellent pottery, cheap.  No western studio potter can compete with the quality and cost of Asian pottery.  But the problem with this factory pottery is that it has no soul.  Technically the pottery is very good but the completed vessel is a composite of a half-dozen or so of  workers.  Clay preparation, throwing, trimming, designing, decorating, glazing, firing, and marketing are tasks carried out by individual specialists; each task is done at a high level of competency.  The finished work is excellently done, but it has no central message.  One person only draws landscapes, another person only draws rivers or people or certain animals, etc.  All day long, every day for 40 or 50 years the person only draws their speciality.  This kind of work is very hard to compete with.  In the West, the studio potter does all the tasks alone and although a fine job is done it can not be done at the same cost of the factory produced pottery.  For the studio potter/artist to be successful he or she must combined technical expertise with human expression.  The studio potter must put heart and soul into each piece.  Can the general public recognize the difference between factory pottery and studio pottery especially when the factory pottery is half the price?  For a studio potter to be successful, the buying public must be able to distinguish the difference between a mug with a clever decal from a mug that reflects the human spirit.

            For Jack/John, the most important aspect of making pottery vessels is to get human emotion into his pieces.  The pieces must speak to him.  If anyone else sees something in his work it is a bonus.

Girl in Rain

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Jack/John with one of his ceramic walls