Jonathan completed his O and A levels in Art with a focus on ceramics. However, he chose to pursue History and Economics at university rather than continuing with ceramics. Life circumstances gradually led him away from his dream of becoming a ceramic sculptor, and it was not until forty years later that he returned to working with clay – an experience Jonathan describes as feeling like “coming home.”

Throughout his practice, Jonathan has gravitated toward techniques that avoid the potter’s wheel, a preference that remains central to his work today. All of his pieces are hand-built. He creates unique forms by blending different clays and often incorporating dry glaze directly into the clay body at the initial stage, sometimes adding further glazes in subsequent firings.

In recent years, his style has continued to evolve, encouraging him to seek new directions and ideas. Over the past year, Jonathan has increasingly worked with porcelain clays, continually testing the material’s limits – often pushing it to the edge of structural failure in the kiln, and occasionally beyond.

He hopes that his pieces engage viewers at least half as much as the process of making them engages and delights him.