Arwyn Jones

Riverside MillMaker Showcase GalleryExhibition

25 Dec

Written By Laura Wasley

Maker Showcase

Ceramics.

‘Making pots isn’t a job, it’s a way of life, an obsession, a devotion.’

My work focuses on simplicity of form and the relationship between the object and its intended purpose. Working predominantly in stoneware and on the potter’s wheel, I create calm, understated pieces for use in the kitchen or on the table. These principles of form and function have informed my creative practice throughout my career and continue to define and inspire its continued evolution.

I have always been fascinated and inspired by the qualities associated with salt glazed pottery,especially the characteristics that can only be achieved when the kiln is fired using wood: the long flame that leaves its mark on the wares as it finds its own way through the chamber, the natural oscillation of atmospheres as the fire responds to each stoking.

16 May - 27 June 2026

Maker Showcase Gallery

My kiln is fired using waste timber from a local sawmill, with salt introduced to the pieces before and during the firing. Additions of different ball clays and locally sourced materials to my own porcelain slips and Shino glazes add to the nuance, subtlety, warmth and variation that can only be achieved when firing with wood and salt and forever ties each piece to where it was made.

After an initial biscuit firing work is then slipped and glazed before being fired in a downdraft kiln with around 3kg of salt added at various stages of the firing. The efficiency of a Boury box enables me to reach cone 10 in 15 hours, the kiln is then crash cooled to around 1050°C before it is clammed up and left for 4 days to cool.

My intension is to create pieces that share an ordered familiarity, expressing their individuality through their exposure to flame and vapour during the firing.

About the exhibitor

Arwyn Jones | Ceramics | Devon

From Arwyn's early days at Loughborough College of Art and Design, throwing has always been his preferred method of making pots. After graduating in 1995 he worked as a thrower in a pottery in South Wales before starting his own Pottery in Frome, Somerset in 1998 and moved to his current workshop in Modbury 20 years ago.

Arwyn uses a smooth, white stoneware clay. After the pots have dried, they are biscuit fired to 980°C, the pieces are then glazed and fired for a final time to 1280°C in either oxidation or reduction.

The Bauhaus/Corbusier mantra of ‘form follows function’ drives the development of Arwyn's work and informs its simplicity and purpose.

Arwyn's love of food has always been at the heart of his work. His intention is to make pieces that contribute to the rituals and pleasures of preparing and enjoying food either on your own or with friends and family.

Influences ranging from the country pottery traditions of Western Europe and the rich glaze traditions of North East Asia to modern and Gothic architecture and the ever inspiring beauty of nature have informed his ideas and shaped the finished pieces.

Website: arwynjonesceramics.co.uk