Artist Spotlight I Jenifer Lloyd Jones

Left to right:
Jenifer Lloyd Jones, Tregony, 2023, Large oval urn with finely scored geometric design of interlocking triangles, High fired stoneware with a range of metal oxides, Height: 63.5 cm / 2ft 1 in.
Jenifer Lloyd Jones, Menheniot, 2023, High fired stoneware clay with a range of metal oxides, Height: 60 cm / 24 in.
Jenifer Lloyd Jones, Pengover, 2024, High fired stoneware clay with a range of metal oxides, Height: 56 cm / 22 in.

Distinguished sculptor and craftsperson, Jenifer Lloyd Jones first began to make her characteristic stoneware pots in 1980. She learned how to throw at Dartington Hall School, in her gap year before before attending university. At Camberwell School of Art, she met Lucie Rie, who had a profound influence on her thinking and practice, and her life as a potter.

Decorated with finely scored geometric designs, Jenifer Lloyd Jones’ high-fired stoneware urns produce a range of dark, metallic shimmering colours due to the metal oxides that she uses. Images from ancient civilisations were important sources of inspiration, particularly the smooth, black basalt sculptures of the Egyptians and the indigenous pottery of West Africa, where rounded forms are enhanced by a variety of incised and raised geometric decoration.

Left:
Jenifer Lloyd Jones
Large bowl with close parallel scoring, slate black, 2019
Stoneware, metal oxides, high fired
62 x 54 cm
24 ⅜ x 21 ¼ in.

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Right:
Jenifer Lloyd Jones
Tall urn with narrow neck, parallel scoring, 2020
Stoneware, metal oxides, high fired
Height: 70 cm / 27 ½ in.
Diameter: 38 cm / 14 ⁹⁄₁₀ in.

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Jones also found inspiration in Crete, where she saw giant pithoi used for storage of grain or oil in Knossos, and remarked “In Crete, people’s gardens and public spaces are littered with these wonderful people-sized Minoan pots; they look quite casual and informal, almost like a natural part of the landscape."

After beginning to create pots that were to be shown outdoors, Jones made them to be strong enough to withstand the elements by utilising coiling techniques and firing them to high temperatures. These pots are what Jones calls ‘garden sculptures’, as they have a strong unchanging and quiet presence; an enduring stillness that creates contrast with the vivacity of the plants and landscape around it.

Jenifer Lloyd Jones' work has been shown at the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, in 2007. She had her first solo museum exhibition at City Art Gallery, Leeds, in 1990. Jenifer Lloyd Jones has exhibited with the New Art Centre since 1995.

Left to right:
Jenifer Lloyd Jones, Pelynt, 2025, High fired stoneware clay with a range of metal oxides, Height: 71 cm / 28 in.
Jenifer Lloyd Jones, Duloe, 2024, High fired stoneware clay with a range of metal oxides, Height: 65 cm / 25 in.
Jenifer Lloyd Jones, Talland, 2024/5, High fired stoneware clay with a range of metal oxides, Height: 82 cm / 32 in.