Jack Doherty

Jack Doherty is one of Britain’s most respected porcelain makers. He trained at the Ulster College of Art and Design. His early work with Kilkenny Design Workshops won him gold medals at the international exhibitions in Faenza and Vallauris. Since 1983, in his present studio in Herefordshire he has produced work that has been exhibited and collected throughout the world.

Jack uses porcelain in a very personal way, exploring the sensual qualities of a beautiful material. He starts to throw a piece and when it has taken on a rough form of a bowl or vase, he will add coloured clays (stained bodies of porcelain) and continue the throwing process, thus stretching and blending the new clay with the original piece.

“Utilitarian needs can be met by vessels made from a variety of new materials, but the joy of clay is in its diverse qualities – smooth, coarse, hard or soft. Objects made from it can be a comfort of challenge. In the hands of a sensitive maker, clay can be used to make forms which enhance contemporary living.”

Each pot is soda fired (usually blowing a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and water into a white hot kiln) giving an element of chance and relaxing the control over the look of the final piece. His way of soda firing leaves each piece with an individual trace of vapour and flame.

He has been the Lead Potter at The Leach Pottery in St. Ives since 2008.