Artist Statement

“Colour is the Keyboard,
The eye is the hammer
The Artist is the hand that sets the soul vibrating
By means of this or that key.”

— Kandinsky

Black and white photo of a smiling person with short hair, wearing a dark top.

I have worked as an artist for 30 years, establishing studios in France, London and more recently in St Lawrence, Isle of Wight. My work features in the permanent collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The British Council permanent collection at Aberystwyth University, Wales and The Art Workers Guild, London. I have also exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Fortnum & Masons, The London Design Museum and galleries in France, Netherlands, USA and Japan.

I am a Fellow of the Craft Potters Association (CPA) and served as a Council Member for several years . I am also a Professional Member of the Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA).

The hallmark of my work is its striking surface pattern and bold use of colour.

I specialize in earthenware fired to high bisque temperatures (giving them extra strength), combining slip decoration and sgraffitto decoration with low temperature translucent glazes in three main colours: "Aquitaine" a rich vibrant turquoise, "Loire" a deep green, and "Carcassonne" a resplendent blue purple.

I was commissioned by the British Library to design and make a series of striking new designs in Black & White based on their exhibition on World Sacred Texts. I was inspired by the calligraphy on an ancient Quran Haj text to create two new ceramic designs “Haj” and Kufic” which feature on my website. The sweeps and curves of the surface patterns echo the curves of the ceramic shapes underneath.



In 2012 I moved from London to the Isle of Wight – a place I have known and loved since childhood and this move has inspired new directions in my work. I am now making work on a larger scale – large Torpedo shaped vases and large dishes and platters as well as expanding the colour palette in my glazes. These include new speckle effects in blue/greens and green/blacks which evoke the coastal shoreline textures and star filled midnight skies of the Island.

I was elected to the prestigious post of Master of The Art Workers Guild for the year 2018-2019 and prior to this was for ten years a Guild Trustee. After this I chaired the Guilds Outreach Committee for three years and in 2023 took on setting up and co-organising the Guild’s Annual Exhibition, demonstration and lecture event for London Craft Week. Please follow the link: www.artworkersguild.org for more information.

Round ceramic plate with black abstract design and signature

Kind Words From Customers

“Dear Jane,

You made such a superb bowl for us to give Chrissie for Christmas. She, Giles, and our grandson Spike came for an early Christmas dinner here last night and opened presents.

When Chrissie unwrapped the bowl and held it in her hands looking at the work of art she dissolved into tears of delight. She was so so pleased - we all were!

I thought I should write to let you know what incredible pleasure and
delight your work has created.

With a thousand thanks from us all, Happy Christmas.”

— David, a happy customer

“Dear Jane,

Thanks again for your very prompt and responsive service and for your clear communication.

You've been really easy and delightful to work with.

Thanks for making the whole experience a pleasure!

I'll let you know when the mugs arrive.

Much appreciated.”

— Ira, a happy customer

“Dear Jane,

 

Thank you for the dinner service you made to commemorate our 50th wedding anniversary. We will treasure it always!

Your plates were centre stage of a celebration family dinner we had the other day and were much admired …

We love the colours and design and thank you so much

for everything you have put into making these so delightful to use and enjoy

 

Thank you so much.”

— David Roberts, Salisbury

“Jane Cox’s lively work is amongst the most recognisable in British studio ceramics. She is a technically versatile potter with a long established reputation for her colour and decorative surfaces. Based on the Isle of Wight, she is influenced by its temperate coastal landscape, but her ceramics also evoke the vivid luminosity of France, where she latterly lived, and the Caribbean. The various colours and forms of these places are reflected in striking objects with their distinctive clarity of line and design. Their rhythmical patterning is suggestive of energies in these natural worlds, of land, air and water. Jane studied ceramics at Camberwell and the Royal College of Art, and is a former Master of the Art Workers’ Guild.”

— David Whiting, A.I.C.A., F.R.S.A, Writer, Critic and Curator in the Visual Arts