Jan O’Neill

ABOUT JAN

Derbyshire-based, Jan O’Neill, is an artist/maker, creating sculptural ceramic vessels. 

In her practice, she works with a range of stoneware clays and hand-builds using a variety of techniques, coiling and pinching and slab building on the larger sculptural pieces. 

The making process gives her freedom for reflection and the realisation of the final form. Her processes are intuitive and the slow pace of coiling as a method of building, for her, is the most contemplative aspect of her practice. 

Working and exploring form, scale, texture and surface, she leaves traces and imprints of her making process on each unique piece. Her work is contemporary, using a minimal palette, and shows the clay in its raw natural beauty. Some pieces will be part or unglazed, revealing tones and textures reflective of the natural elements and organic shapes that influence her. 

Each series of vessels tells a story of power, nature, simplicity and minimalism, resulting in sculptures and vessels that embrace the textures, tones and rhythms of natural life.