Jo is a member of the Craft Potters Association and of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. She lectured for many years, latterly HND ceramics and glass at North Warwickshire College. 

Jo holds workshops and demonstrations nationwide and runs occasional courses in her own studio and residential courses at West Dean College in Sussex. 

Author of “The Potter’s Guide to Ceramic Surfaces” (Apple 2002) and “Colouring Clay” (A&C Black 2007).

Profile and Inspiration

Jo Connell has worked with clay for many years and is best known for her use of coloured clays to create unusual effects. She works with slabs of clay made from marbled, laminated and sometimes distressed layers of colour, firing her forms to  stoneware temperature without a glaze.

Jo draws her ideas from the natural world, and elements of landscape, seascape, rock strata and plant structure can be clearly recognized in her work. She seeks to echo and interpret some of the qualities observed in nature using a personal language of expression acquired from many years’ experience of working with clay. 

The method of decoration used here is unusual. The clay itself is coloured and then manipulated by twisting, rolling and cutting so that surface pattern is integral with the form itself. She often works experimentally and seeks to explore some of the fascinating qualities of clay, the material itself being a major source of inspiration. Subtle colour and texture combine to produce surfaces of an intriguingly tactile nature, sometimes stretched and stressed, almost in the same way as geological forces affect the earth’s crust. Jo makes a range of ceramics includes vessels, sculptural forms and lighting for interior and garden settings. Wall panels and hangings often combine mixed media such as driftwood, glass and metal.

Jo is available for lectures, demonstrations and workshops. She also runs occasional workshops in her studio. 

Contact : enquiries@jjconnell.co.uk