Jane White FSDC

As soon as Jane discovered the process of pit firing she knew that it was a way of working that she strongly identified with, and felt that she had found her creative direction. She is excited by its endless possibilities, by the fact that the pieces seem to have been created by nature itself, by the organic material, the seaweed, and the element of fire, with its power to transform the surface of the clay into a myriad of different patterns and colours.

The technique is a marriage between the artist and chance, experimentation and observation, where discovery becomes as significant as invention, and failures should be seen as just part of the process of learning. Each piece that is unearthed from the ashes is totally unique and she is inspired and intrigued by the fact that the beauty of nature itself seems have been encapsulated into the work when the elements interact. Consequently she is constantly striving to create forms that mirror the simplicity and balance evident all around us in the natural world, so that surface and form become seamlessly unified, as in nature.

In her life Jane enjoys taking risks and chances, going on long journeys of discovery, and travelling to places where few people venture. By working in this way she is able to find the same challenges and adventure in her creative life, and hopes that her work conveys and retains the excitement and enthusiasm she feels when making it.

Education:

2005 – 2008 - Bucks New University BA (Hons) Ceramics with Glass, Dissertation – (1st) – Copy now held in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and Oxford University’s Sackville Library

2000 – 2002 - The Henley College, Henley-on-Thames AS/A Level Ceramics (Aa)

Memberships:

Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen

Craft Potters Association (Associate)

West Forest Potters

Work Experience:

2008 - to date - Established my studio with a grant from LEADER funding, part of the RDPE (Rural development programme for England). Started to work independently making pit-fired ceramics, and also teaching privately from my studio.

2008 – 2016 - On the committee of West Forest Potters and responsible for Speaker Bookings – 8 speakers/year.

1999 – 2000 - Artist in Residence, Watlington Primary School, Oxon Worked with all the children in the school to create a relief tile panel (8ft X 4ft) to mark 125 years of the school and the opening of a new school by the Education Secretary, David Blunkett, in the Millennium year.

1997 – 1999 - The Douglas Watson Studio, Henley-on-Thames. Worked in a team of 4 assisting in all aspects of running a busy tile making and hand-painting studio, selling to prestigious outlets such as ‘Paris Ceramics.’

Career/Shows/Exhibitions etc:

July/August 2020 - Ceramic Review magazine - 'Masterclass Special with Jane White and Stephen Murfitt'

November 2019 – Terracotta plant markers featured on the front cover of November's Country Living magazine, and also photos of them were featured 4 times inside the magazine.

September - December 2019 - 'New Work' at Golden Hare Gallery, Maulden, Bedfordshire

September 2019 - to date – Work on show at Waterperry Gallery, Oxford

July 2019 - 'Celebrating Ceramics' Show at Waterperry House, Oxford

December 2018 - Book Launch of the book I was commissioned to write: ‘Alan Caiger-Smith and the Legacy of the Aldermaston Pottery.’ At the book launch I gave an illustrated talk to over 200 people at the Ashmolean Museum, alongside Alan Caiger-Smith and Professor Timothy Wilson.

September 2016 – September 2018 Researching and writing for the book, ‘Alan Caiger-Smith and the Aldermaston Legacy.

February 2017 - Work was featured on The Great Pottery Throw Down for the ‘Perfect,Perfect’ section on the Pit-Firing Episode, and also showcased in photos in the accompanying book p.’s 96-100 with technical information which I provided.

January 15th – 17th 2017 - Top Drawer, Craft, Olympia, London

September 16th – 30thtth 2016 - Golden Hare Gallery, ‘Playing with Fire,’ Ampthill, Bedfordshire

September 2016 - Now teaching 2 days a week in the studio

July 14th – 17th 2016 - Art in Action 2016, Selected demonstrator in the Ceramics Marquee, Waterperry House, Oxfordshire

July/August 2016 - Ceramic Review magazine - ‘Masterclass with Jane White’

October 8th – 11th 2015 - Handmade at Kew 2015, Kew Gardens, London

October 2015 – ‘Elle Decoration’ magazine - Work selected to showcase the Handmade at Kew Show – ‘Our Pick.’

July 16th – 19th 2015 - Art in Action 2015, Selected demonstrator in the Ceramics Marquee, Waterperry House, Oxfordshire

January 21st – 24th 2015 - Love is Enough: William Morris and Andy Warhol. In collaboration with Modern Art Oxford – 4 days of ‘hands-on’ workshop sessions, where members of the public engage with clay to create simple but beautiful objects, reflecting Morris’s ideal that you must ‘Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.’ Also demonstrations of my workshop practice and a continuous showing of the film I made of the whole making and pit firing process, and a small exhibition of a selection of my work.

January 8th – 17th 2015 - The 25th Designer Crafts at The Mall Exhibition, The Mall Galleries, London SW1 – Exhibiting in the Main Gallery and in The Shop within the Show

November 14th – 16th 2014 - Handmade in Britain 14, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London

October 4th – November 8th 2014 - ‘Fields and Flames.’ A solo ceramics exhibition, with photography based pictures by Seb Piper, and the opening exhibition at the Golden Hare Gallery, Ampthill, Beds

September 2014 - Started teaching students privately at the studio

July 17th – 20th 2014 - Art in Action 2014 – Demonstrator in the main Ceramics Marquee at Waterperry House, Oxford

March 23rd 2014 - Decorfest Interior Design Show, Wimbledon, London

November 2013 - Greenstede Gallery, ‘Moths and More,’ Chequermead Arts Centre, East Grinstead, Surrey

August 2013 - Chilterns Craft and Design Show, Informed Design Marquee, Stonor Park, Oxfordshire

July 2013 Henley Festival of Music and Arts – The Riverside Gallery

January 2013 - Designer Crafts at the Mall 2013, Mall Galleries, London SW1

November 2012 - ‘Handmade in Britain 12’, Chelsea Old Town Hall, Kings Road, London SW3

August 11th – November 4th 2012 - ‘Forget Ordinary’ The Lovers Lights Gallery, Twickenham Green, London

August 2012 - Showing with ‘Informed Design’ at the Chilterns Craft and Design Show, Stonor Park, Oxfordshire

June 2012 - ‘The Art of Craftsmanship’ Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire (National Trust) A 2-day demonstration by selected members of the Society of Designer Craftsmen

May 2012 - Oxford Artweeks Open Studio, West Forest Potters Annual Exhibition,Henley & Wallingford Arts Trail

May 2012 - Exhibition – ‘Artspace,’ Barn Galleries, Henley-on-Thames,

January 2012 - Designer Crafts at the Mall 2012

October 2011 - The Reading Art Exhibition

September 2011 - Lecture and Demonstration to Buckinghamshire Pottery and Sculpture Society

July 2011 - Organised and taught a 2 day Pit-firing Workshop at my studio for 8 students

May 2011 - Henley Arts Trail – Exhibiting at the Henley Rugby Club as part of the West Forest Potters Exhibition

Feb 2011 - Lecture and Demonstration to West Forest Potters

January 2011 - 21st Anniversary Designer Crafts at the Mall

December 2010 - ‘Raku and Beyond’, ‘Christmas at Bevere’, The Gallery at Bevere, Worcester

October 2010 - CPA Oxford Ceramics Fair

June 2010 - West Forest Potters Annual Exhibition

Nov 2009 - Lecture and Powerpoint to 200 students at Bucks New University on ‘Starting up in a Craft Business’

May 2009 - Artspace, Barn Galleries, Henley-on-Thames

December 2008 - The Graduate Show, The Gallery at Bevere, Worcester

July 2008 - New Designers, Business Design Centre, Islington, London

June 2008 - Bucks New University Degree Show