By Louise Irvine

Jonathan Chiswell Jones was inspired to “chase the rainbow” when he saw a book about the work of the Victorian artist-potter, William De Morgan. Twenty-five years later, he continues to explore the “alchemy of luster” at his studio pottery in East Sussex, England. See some of Jonathan’s spectacular pieces at WMODA when the museum reopens.

Jonathan was born in Calcutta in 1944 and first saw pottery being made on the banks of the Hoogly River where local potters were making teacups from river clay. At school in England, he had his first experience on the potter’s wheel at the age of 12 and read A Potter’s Book by Bernard Leach which inspired his vocation as an artist-potter. After graduating from Oxford University, Jonathan trained at Farnham Art School and he has been working as a professional potter for nearly 50 years

In 1998, Jonathan began to experiment with reduction fired luster, an ancient technique used by Middle Eastern potters to fuse a thin layer of silver or copper onto the surface of a glaze. When fired in a kiln starved of oxygen, the metal combines with the glaze to reflect the light.  During his luster studies, Jonathan discovered that he was part of a long tradition which includes 19th century artist-potters such as William De Morgan in England, Theodore Deck in France, and Vilmos Zsolnay in Hungary.  However, unlike many of his predecessors, Jonathan designs, throws, decorates, glazes and fires his own work from start to finish. Each of Jonathan’s pieces is signed and numbered and details of how it was created are stored at the pottery.

Jonathan is renowned for his exquisite brushwork which echoes Pilkington’s Royal Lancastrian pottery from the early 20th century, also exhibited at WMODA.  He works on a high-fired porcelain body using clay paste lusters of silver, copper and a mixture of both on a ground of copper/cobalt. Since 1995, Jonathan has worked alongside Kerry Bosworth who is an expert in calligraphy and does the brush lettering on many of the designs. Their spectacular chargers often have inscriptions or verses from poets such as William Blake.

Only a handful of potters around the world still strive to “chase the rainbow” as reduction-fired luster ware is one of the most challenging ceramic processes. Read more about Jonathan Chiswell Jones on his website.

Read more about William De Morgan at WMODA.

Read more about Pilkington Luster at WMODA.

Read more about Zsolnay Luster at WMODA.