Bio:

Scott Jones is from Northwest Ohio. He received his BFA from Bowling Green State University and an MFA in Studio Arts from Wichita State University, with an emphasis on ceramics and printmaking. Scott has completed residencies at the North Carolina Pottery Center and Starworks. Most recently, Scott has launched his own business developing hydrographic ceramic glazes.

Statement:

My interest in clay’s materiality remains a powerful influence on my practice. Through gestures of compression and collapse, clay’s natural plasticity shapes my work. I craft vessels from crumpled slabs, which creates many technical challenges throughout the making process.  For me, craft is not the pursuit of refined perfection, but the discipline of sitting with a material longer than is comfortable and allowing knowledge, both technical and conceptual, to emerge from that relationship. I challenge the traditional values of pottery by embracing these complex forms that would otherwise be constrained by convention.

My work's surface has developed through experimenting with hydrographic printing (water transfer printing), modifying the process to suit ceramic firings. This method introduces new possibilities for ceramic decals. I am fascinated by the physical and chemical interactions in this process: the graphic navigating a complex form, and its chemical properties, adding depth and texture. These prints both obscure and enhance the form, flattening and exaggerating the volumes, making the vessel appear to be in a continuous state of flux.