Jacqueline Clark

Jacqueline Clark, photo by Bryan Clark

I make thrown and hand-built forms based on the landscape; informed by the calm tidal creeks and rivers of the south coast of Cornwall, near to where I live. I work with Dobles white stoneware from St Agnes which is a very smooth, white clay.

Some forms are observations of boats that sit on the water or on the mud at low tide. These sculptural pieces, made from local stoneware clay, some loaded with oxide, reference boats but are not intended as perfect representations; they capture the essence - some suggest movement, some static.

Much of my work is inscribed with lines representing the swaying grasses of the creek margins. Reeds, silt and how the tide and man mark the landscape all influence her work. Glazes are representative of the tide: a dry, ultra-matt green glaze emulates the creek at low tide, a soft grey glaze reflects the soft focus of the view in Cornish mizzle, then the turquoise-blue, the vibrant colour of the sea on a summer’s day. 

Visits to the potteries of Mashiko, Japan were also hugely inspiring; the raku teabowls here were fired and washed at the water’s edge. 

I graduated from Cardiff in 1989 specialising in Raku ceramics. I lived in Kent for 25 years where I was Head of Art at Rochester Independent College before moving to Cornwall in 2005. 

Up until 2021 I was Learning and Participation Officer at the Leach Pottery, working with schools and the community. Projects included working with people who live with dementia on a ceramics and nature project and many other activities and projects as part of the Leach 100 centenary celebrations.


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