Q&A with Mary Jones
Mary Jones' characterful ceramic sculptures have been part of KMA collections since 2013. Her works are playful, with a childlike quality that is rarely captured in an artist's work. The expressions portrayed in her pieces appear simple. However, on closer inspection, every aspect from conception to execution is complex. Her works can have a marmite appeal. Sometimes the viewer hasn't taken enough time to enjoy and consider them. I have witnessed many arguments in the gallery over Mary's work. Equally, I have seen many U-turns too. This shows the power of art and the magic it brings into our lives.
Mary's work is joyful and uplifting, and I invite you to learn more about her and her sculptures. I hope you will admire her works as I do.
Why did you decide to go to university?
I had been attending pottery evening classes for years, and my love for anything to do clay grew and grew. One year I went to the International Ceramics Festival in Aberystwyth. I was blown away with all the different lectures and demonstrations. I particularly connected with an address given by Claire Curneen (one of the UK's foremost ceramic artists). She talked about her work with such passion. And about how great Cardiff School of Art and Design had been for her. And in that instant, I realised that this was what I wanted, at 48 years old I wanted to change my life entirely and go to university to study for a BA in Ceramics. So, to cut a long story short, I went home, put my house on the market, sold up, left my job and came to live in Wales, attending university in Cardiff as a mature student. The icing on the cake was that Claire Curneen became one of my primary tutors.
Tell us about your relationship with clay and why this material attracted you?
I love working with clay for many different reasons, but the main one is because it's so immediate to work with. It allows me to be really playful and excitingly creative, without worrying if I'm going to be happy with the end results. Anything can be changed at any point with just a push of the finger.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?
My day starts early in my studio, partly because it's at home, but mainly because I can't wait to see the results from the firing in the kiln. I potter down to the studio in my pyjamas with a cup of tea in my hand, followed by my little dog, Molly, who very quickly makes herself at home under the table. My work will still be warm from the firing, and I love to see what surprises the firing has left me (and there are always surprises.) It could be the lovely varied, green shine where the transparent glaze has changed the oxide. Or the way some of the shards of crockery that I embed in the clay have changed in colour. Or perhaps the way the colours of the underglazes have become so much more vibrant. At this point I'm enjoying being in my studio so much I usually become engrossed in other jobs. I find myself mooching around, looking at the work that I made a day or two previously with fresh eyes. Perhaps adding some colour here and other marks there and, before I know it, I've been in my studio for over an hour. At some point, I decide to go back into the house and get ready for the day, getting dressed, having breakfast and feeding Molly. I get back down into my studio for the rest of the day about 10am, but my morning mooch is my favourite time.
Tell us more about those who influence your work.
Tracey Emin. I love listening to her talk about her work and how it all relates to her life. She's taught me a lot.
Your sculptures are a response to conversations you've had with people. How closely do your sculptures resemble your subjects, or are they purely abstract?
My pieces are mostly abstract. My aim is to capture the essence of the feeling from the conversation I have with my subject, rather than the pieces being representational.
Do you make sketches, write, photograph, make visual or audio recordings as part of your process?
I make a sketch straight after talking with my subject, noticing their distinctive features. Theses sketches are very loose and basic. Later I paint the head, using Indian inks to play around and capture the colours I aim to use on the finished piece.
How do you go about naming your pieces?
All my work is about the conversation I've had with my sitter. I use a snippet from each of these conversations for the titles of my pieces.
Your sculptures are beautifully simplistic yet are complex in concept and to construct. How do you achieve this?
I try to be very playful when creating my work. I fight against perfection as I find it very boring. I feel if there is something about the piece which is imperfect, it grabs me. It makes the work come alive, and it becomes so much more interesting. Immediacy in the making, marks and colours are very important.
Are there any artists that you would say have influenced your work?
I am great influenced by Gertraud Mohwald.
Your sculptures feature shards of ceramic, embedded into the clay. How do they offer a connection between your subject and the piece?
Sometimes the pieces of crockery that I embed into the sculptures relate to the conversation I've had with my sitter. But I also like to use shards for the shape, pattern and colour they offer to the sculpture.
Tell us about your proudest artistic achievement.
I graduated from university, attaining a First with Honours, which made me extremely proud. And, at the same time, I also won the Welsh Assembly Government Minister of Heritage Award 2013. The prize for winning this was having one of my sculptures in the First Minister of Wales (Carwyn Jones) office for a whole year. The sculpture was of my son. And it just made me smile to think that my son was sitting in Carwyn Jones's office.
How do you feel your work is evolving?
I feel the genuine characters of the people I have conversations with, are coming through stronger, and my work is becoming bolder.
Mary Jones : Go and Catch a Falling Star
Is there an artist that you admire?
I admire Paul Wadsworth's abstract, landscape work. He paints in a very immediate and expressive way, which I really relate to. I especially love his paintings of the Cornish coastline. I've attended a number of his painting courses and learnt such a lot about how he paints.
Do you have any other passions?
Being by the sea and fossil hunting
Have you ever created a self-portrait in clay?
Yes, I've made a head called 'He's somewhere else now'. It's myself having a conversation with a friend about my father, who died a long time ago.
Do you collect anything?
Old tins, fossils, old crockery shards found in the ground, sea glass, little silver boxes, beach finds, beautiful stones, bricks and old cutlery and crockery which i use in the kitchen.....too many things really
Mary Jones : I Had to Pinch Myself