Fantastic Ceramics Japanese Style – by Jill Fanshawe Kato

If you go in to any of the 450 Japanese restaurants in London, you might well come face-to-face with ceramics by Jill Fanshawe Kato. The Tsurukame on Gray's Inn Road have these lovely pitchers on display sitting on a piano, while the counter at Blossom in City Point, near Moorgate tube station, supports a huge, globular narrow-necked jar by Jill.

Stoneware pitchers by Jill Fanshawe Kato.
The bamboo are in another vase behind!

These are advertisements for Jill's work, which can be seen in galleries across southern England as well as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Inspired by Japanese ceramics and by nature, her creations are wonderful statements in swaths of colour, bold shapes, and naturalistic images. I particularly like the pitcher shown on the right here, with a jay painted in a white oval. The pouring spout of the pitcher mirrors the bill of the jay, both facing upwards to the left in optimistic expectation.

Having taught ceramics at Goldsmiths College, University of London for several years, Jill now does workshops open to all in Devon. Her new schedule is:

2012 Pottery courses at Coombe Farm Studios near Dartmouth, Devon. www.coombefarmstudios.com
May 21-25	'Inspired by Nature'
September 14-16	'Creative Clay'

Jill also does special exhibitions and commissions across the globe. Her work challenges the more subtle Hamada school of stoneware carried on by the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall. More colourful and more playful than the Hamada tradition, Jill's ceramics are conversation pieces as well as utilitarian items. Really interested persons can make a special appointment to see Jill in her London studio; see her website for info.