In the Studio: Maker Q&A: Meet Jane White Jane White
Appears in the Jul/Aug 2024 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated.
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In the Potter's Kitchen
In the Studio
Pottery Illustrated
Firing temperature: Pit-firing temperature approx. 2012°F (1100°C)
Atmosphere: I encourage a reduction atmosphere within the pit by covering the fire at the optimum time toward the end of the firing.
Surface treatment: Burnishing leather-hard pots, followed by three layers of terra sigillata to bone dry work, buffed to a shine.
Forming method: Pinching and coiling, and some trimming.
Favorite tools in your toolbox? My collection of long-handled wooden spoons from Botswana, which I use to shape pots. I also have a favorite jade polished stone, which I use for burnishing. It’s just the right shape to hold in my hand.
Website: www.janewhiteceramics.com
Social media: Instagram @janewhiteceramics
Describe the first clay piece you made that you thought had potential: An amphora, which I’d taken to a Jane Perryman workshop about 20 years ago. We were a large group, and my piece came out of the pit firing with the most spectacular colors and patterns and was much admired. I was hooked!
What are you inspired by? Ancient pottery forms, many thousands of years old, found in national museums worldwide.
What is your process for finding/designing new forms? I study hundreds of photos I’ve taken of pots in museums and archaeological sites across the world, and I often find a new form that inspires me that I haven’t made before.
Favorite piece in your ceramic collection? A large reduced-pigment luster charger by Alan Caiger-Smith.
Best piece of advice you ever received? Look, look, and look again even harder. Even when you think you know a form you’ve still got a lot to learn!
Best advice you can give to other potters? Never give up. There is no such thing as failure, it should all be seen as part of the process of learning. Write down everything you do, and the consequential results, this will help you solve the problems.
Describe your studio: My studio is a 200-year-old dairy building situated in our farmhouse garden. It’s in a valley with lovely views, and has a very peaceful atmosphere; I feel inspired as soon as I enter the building. I have a very large electric kiln, a couple of potter’s wheels, a slab roller, a pugmill, and lots of old slate work surfaces.
Best thing about your studio? The slate work surfaces, which were used for making butter and cheese.
Wish list for your studio? I wish it was warmer in winter. Also, a small kiln, so I can make some experimental fun work.
Describe a typical day or session in the studio: I work on about six pieces at a time, and I carry out all the processes on that group before starting a new group. I work in the studio from about 9:30am until 5pm, usually joining my husband for a lunch break at about 1pm when he comes in from the farm, and in the summertime, I like to do an hour’s gardening to wind down before making supper.
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