Jason Shackleton

Born in London 1956

“From thirteen I knew I wanted to make pots.”

From as early as thirteen Jason knew without a doubt that he wanted to be a potter. He was fortunate to have studied under Bernie Forrester and Colin Kellam at Dartington. the one expanding his aesthetics and the other helping him develop his technique.

Not surprisingly, considering Dartington’s reputation for pottery, Jason went straight from school to work as an apprentice in Mary Wandrausch’s studio for a year. He spent the next five years honing his technical skills in Alan Caiger-Smith’s pottery at Aldermaston before moving to Scotland in 1979 and setting up his own business.

For Jason one of the key attractions to becoming a potter was the wood-fired kiln and he had the foresight to plant 2000 trees, when he first moved to Scotland, to ensure he would be self-sufficient in wood for his kiln.

Since then he has been producing decorated tin glaze majolica and slipware using a variety of techniques including brush painted tin glaze, slip trailing and sgraffito. Alongside this he has been making decorated tiles and painting murals, mainly for private clients.