Jonquil Cook - new ceramic artist joins Skylark Galleries
January 19, 2022
Skylark Galleries welcomes new ceramicist Jonquil Cook who joined our collective in October 2021.
Jonquil produces stoneware ceramics from her studio in Woolwich Dockyard. She specialises in detailed sgraffito carved decoration. To discover more about this fascinating artist in her own words, read on.
Who are you and what do you do? I am Jonquil Cook, I'm a ceramic artist.
Why do you do it? I am passionate about clay!
What is sgraffito?
It's a special technique I use, adapted from my printmaking of scratching designs into clay.
What has been a seminal experience for you? Travelling the world
What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
I have been an actress, a dancer, a tour guide and a set designer.
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
Someone was reminded of the wild Atlantic coast of North Uist in one of my ceramic glazes. The Outer Hebrides is one of my favourite places on Earth and has been a huge influence on my work.
Are there stories behind the two artworks you have selected here?
The Circus range: I spent a Summer in my early 20s as a circus performer, living in a house with a multi-generational circus family. Crazy times!
Splashing colour about on my ceramic homeware is as close an expression as I can imagine to the chaos and sheer exuberant joy of a circus lifestyle.
What superpower would you have and why?
Flight. Because I would love to have wings that could carry me anywhere, whenever I wanted to travel.
One "Circus Range" mug
Stack of three "Circus Range" mugs
As well as exhibiting at Skylark Galleries, do you have some other exhibitions coming up?
Yes, I'll be exhibiting at Potfest at Glynde Place, near Lewes: April 22,23,24
and at Potfest in the Pens, Penrith, Cumbria: June 3,4,5
To read more about Jonquil and see her current works for sale click here
Richard Dickson will be exhibiting with his art group Androtechne at the Espacio Gallery in Bethnal Green from 25th Oct to 6th Nov. The show is called "The Divine Complex" and considers the near future evolution of mankind.
