Jack Doherty: Maker in Focus

As a potter and ceramic artist Jack Doherty has gained an international reputation in the UK and abroad for his work with one clay body, one mineral and one single firing technique. Through this singleness of process Jack is able to obtain a complex, multi-layering of surface texture and colour, whilst remaining true to the form.

Born in Co Derry, Jack Doherty studied at the Ulster College of Art and Design in Belfast wanting to be a painter, but after a visit to Lucie Rie’s studio he decided he wanted to make pots for a living. On graduating he worked at Kilkenny Design Workshops before establishing his first studio in Co Armagh and then relocated to Herefordshire. From 2008 – 2013 Jack was the first Lead Potter and Creative Director at the refurbished Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall where he established the production studio and designed a contemporary domestic range of soda-fired tableware.

Jack’s ceramic vessels are now represented in many public collections. He works from his home studio in Cornwall, and is resident potter at the Newlyn School of Art where he fires his gas kiln.