Jill Fanshawe kato

Jill Fanshawe Kato works in Devon and London and is a ceramic artist whose work is inspired by the natural world and her extensive travels. Encouraged by family members, she began drawing at an early age, and her interest in nature was awakened at ten when her family moved from Nottingham to the Devonshire village of Kingskerswell. Early experiences caring for injured wildlife and observing birds and animals helped shape her lifelong connection to nature, which is evident in her ceramics. Travel to Spain, Asian countries, Brazil and islands such as the Maldives and Okinawa have all acted as sources of inspiration for her work.

Fanshawe Kato graduated in Painting from Chelsea School of Art, London, and gained an Art Teacher’s Certificate. After a period of teaching, she visited Tokyo, where the everyday use of ceramics in Japan influenced her direction. She studied with Japanese potter Yosei Itaka and visited many traditional pottery towns and villages, including training in Karatsu clay techniques at Musoan Pottery School near Tokyo. She also experimented with various clays and glazes in a gas kiln studio.

On returning to London in 1977, Fanshawe Kato established her first studio with a grant from the Crafts Council. She lived and worked in north London with her husband, Japanese photo‑journalist Setsuo Kato, and exhibited widely internationally and across the UK. In Japan she has held more than 40 exhibitions, mainly at the Keio Department Store in Tokyo and also in Okinawa. She was a lecturer on the Postgraduate Ceramics Diploma course at Goldsmiths College, London, for 17 years and also taught at Lambeth Institute and Kingsway College. Fanshawe Kato has worked at the studio of potter Ryoji Koie in Japan and has been invited to ceramic residencies in Spain. She continues to lecture, demonstrate and teach, and is establishing a studio in Devon.

Fanshawe Kato’s ceramics are informed by observation of the natural world and by travel. Her making processes include coiling, slabbing, sculpting, mould work, throwing and altering forms. She applies slips and glazes for colour, constantly experimenting with materials, and works with a range of stoneware clays, including experiments with River Dart clay fired to 1270°C in a laser gas kiln. She also produces some raku work. Her output ranges from functional pottery for Western and Japanese use to large sculptural commissions and wall murals.