amelia island pottery

02/07/10

Amelia Island Pottery - Doug Jones, Ceramic Artist

Doug Jones. I had a passion for art and reading when I was very young. I first found the magic of clay in High School art classes, but it was much later before the clay really captured my heart. After touring Europe, upon graduation, and being able to touch works of art that most people can only read about or see in pictures, I was ready to set the world on fire. I came back to Florida and received my Associate Arts from Florida Junior College and the many fine art instructors there helped fine tune my skills. It was there that I developed a love for clay. During that time I met and took workshops from Paula Rice and Don Reitz. I use to visit Charlie Brown's studio and marvel at his mastery of clay and the RAKU process and for the past several years, Lee and Dorothy Shank have been very supportive...nudging me along the way (they were both in one of my text books when I was in college). More recently, workshops at the Odyssey Center with Mark Peters in Ashville, NC fine tuned other skills. I played in clay in my limited spare time while I 'served my sentence' as the Planning and Zoning Director for County Government for over 20 years. I have now been ‘potting’ for over 37 years (full time since 1995), yet I learn something new each day.

In 1998 my wife of 18 years passed away after a long battle with cancer. My daughter was still in High School at the time. She graduated (with Honors) in 2000, was a member of the National Champion Cheer Squad and Homecoming Queen. She went off to Florida State University and is now happily married and giving me grandbabies (future potters). My son, Chris, came back to Amelia Island in '98 and joined me in my studio 'Jones Pottery'. Together we sold through various retail shops, galleries and art shows. His pottery evolved and he went off to seek his own vision in 2002. I took a more relaxed view on life after my wife passed on, my work took on a more ‘island / coastal theme’ which fit in with my life style and the area I wanted to market. I put up a hammock and Jimmy Buffet and the slack key guitar of James Keli'iplo Kahea Mawae became the studio music of choice. Now I can be on Island Time.... all of the time.

I work with stoneware clays on the wheel, slab and hand building. Most of my work is high-fired to cone 10-11(about 2350 degrees) and my glazes reflect my rich coastal environment … with our island influence, they tend to be blues and greens. My work is well accepted in numerous galleries and art shows throughout the Southeast and Hawaii.

It is my mission to create and offer the highest quality, and most creatively designed and skillfully executed pottery, and artistic creations that I can produce. I want to do this while sharing the knowledge that I have absorbed over the years, and to seek out information that will give me the ability to better serve and create.

Recently, we have been teaching pottery classes on cruise ships. It has been a very rewarding experience, being able to pass our skills along and visiting galleries and studios in various ports.

Pat West Jones - Pat is a 1975 graduate of the University of South Florida and has a BA in Mass Communications. Her prior community activities include Board positions with the DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce, American Heart Association, American Cancer Association, DeLand Museum of Art (Chairman), Cultural Arts Center (Chairman), I-CARE and was a graduate of Leadership DeLand (1985). She was a founding member of TEAM (Together Educating Adolescent Motorists) for which she was recognized by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Volusia County Legislative Delegation for leading the efforts in the passage of the statewide Graduated Driving License Legislation for teenage drivers. In addition to her extensive experience on hospital governing boards, she has 14 years of experience with a national 'Top 10' planning, architecture and engineering firm, Gresham, Smith and Partners, as a Healthcare Principal.

When we met in 2002, we found we shared many common ideas and goals. We even collected pottery from some of the same artists. Pat makes me soar.... she is very supportive of my work and helps in the studio and at shows as her schedule allows. She is the Yin to my Yang... she makes me whole.

This site was last updated 02/07/10