Collection: Hamish Jackson

After my four year apprenticeship with Mark Hewitt ended in 2018, I worked in potteries in England and Thailand. In 2019, I did a residency at the Shigaraki Cultural Park in Japan, and followed this with a residency at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove.

Over the past few years, I’ve become more interested in using local wild materials in my craft. This begins with the clay. In North Carolina, I began mixing my own clay and also experimenting with local rocks to make glazes.

In 2020, I began the MFA program in ceramics at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Over three years there, I studied glaze chemistry using local materials. I took geology classes, which helped me focus my research. My thesis show was titled “Tea time with the Devil”; it showcased four glazes made primarily with one local granite from Devil’s Playground in northwestern Utah. Here’s an article I wrote about it if you want to delve deeper!

In the summer of 2023, I began working at Pleasant Hill Pottery, in Oregon, as artist in residence. During this time I have explored Oregon clays and rocks in my work. I try to connect my pots to the places where the materials are from and the people who use them to these places too. To learn more about my philosophy on potting and use of local materials you can watch this short 9 minute film.

Most of my work is wood fired which is the most time consuming way to go about it, but also can produce subtle and spectacular surfaces. It is a team activity, with a crew of artists keeping the fire going for days and nights on end. It is a labor of love. 

My wife, Lauren, and I have two daughters. They are still young but keep me as busy as the pottery and I love them and Lauren soooo much.

I try to post daily on instagram and share the stories of my life in clay. Follow along here: https://www.instagram.com/hamish.jackson.pottery/?hl=en