Taylor’s inspiration comes from highly decorative architectural features such as ornate plaster ceilings, wrought iron and carved stone. Living near the Georgian city of Bath provides a rich visual resource, although it can be said that she will seek out such details wherever she goes.

Regular visits to our larger cities such as Liverpool and London offer ornament that can be experienced on a grander scale with their historic buildings such as the Sefton Park Palm House and the V&A holding many further examples. Further afield the architecture of Gaudi in Barcelona, the palaces of Potsdam and the Villa D'Este in Tivoli have all provided inspiration.

In her own words:

"I enjoy the grand gesture present in large scale relief, the drama of deep shadow, the dialogue between space, structure & ornament. The changing light conditions of bright sunlight, a dull day, dusk or artificial light, can affect the contrast and way the structure is perceived.

My recent works have taken inspiration from the Rococo period, which was a unique point in history when artisans were allowed unprecedented artistic freedom; working against the formal rules of proportion and symmetry, where the decorative eclipsed the primary structure.

Piranesi's Candelabrum Series is another source of inspiration. His constructions combined diverse ancient fragments to create new work, he believed in the freedom of designers to draw from a variety of sources to enrich their invention."

This idea of 'freedom of creativity' is central to Taylor's practice, whilst the works reference the historic, the outcomes are contemporary, combining various techniques (hand building, extrusion, sprigging, throwing on a potter’s wheel) to create each unique piece, often in the form of sculptural vessels.

Taylor's work is regularly only fired once and left unglazed, in order for the clay to communicate the marks, textures and surface without hindrance. A range of clays are used from porcelain to rough, grogged bodies, that are sometimes coloured using body stains or with slip applied to the surface. Finished works can be free standing, wall hung or presented as group assembly.

Taylor’s current practice has been evolving since graduating from her MA at Bath Spa University in 2012. Since that time she has exhibited widely in the UK and also in Belgium & the US, whilst also featuring in a number of publications including Ceramic Review in the UK & Ceramics Monthly in the US.

Further information

2021 Inspiration for The Colonnade Series

2020 New Vari Capitelli & behind-the-scenes making

2020 Jo Taylor | Ceramic Review Masterclass Film by Layton Thompson



Artist portrait by Russell Sach.