Silver Street Studios – Slip and Ink, a Meeting of Minds and Materials

Discipline Ceramics, Printmaking

Jo Dove, Ceramicist

My work is an accumulation of all the experiences and education I have had over many years, influences by teachers, tutors, places lived, places taught and a constant investigation into a material that has shaped the way I live my life. “

Since studying Ceramics at West Surrey College of Art and Design, Jo has been teaching in Universities, Colleges and Schools, and in recent years she has continued sharing her knowledge by holding classes and workshops in her local studio. Jo makes and sells her own work in her shop in shop front as well as making commissions and exhibitions. 

Based in Rural Somerset, on the edge of Exmoor, Jo’s studio is situated in the heart of the town Wiveliscombe. Having a longstanding history of studio pottery in the south west, Jo grew up alongside the influence of other potters as well as studying it at school from the age 14.

Jo set up the studio in January 2000 to create a space for people to come and learn pottery and for her to create her work. Since then the space has become a hive of creativity for people to learn all aspects of pottery. Jo’s well equipped studio includes 3 electric potters wheels, numerous tables for hand building, a separate glaze room and two electric kilns in a building off from her studio.

Working in all areas of ceramics has given Jo a love and appreciation for clay and its history but her main love is found on the potters wheel. Jo is most at home when throwing, all areas of her practice lead back to her trying to maintain the fresh, rawness and life found in thrown clay. 

In recent years she has continuously experimented in making and developing glazes for her work. Taking a snapshot in time from the wheel to finished product, highlighting all the intentional and accidental mark making within the process. The glazes are made to give a sense of depth and translucency to the clay underneath.

Being a lover of good food and cooking, Jo’s work has always been a centred around enhancing that experience. To bring enjoyment of that process through the functionality and everyday use of the pots and for the occasional celebration. 

Website jodoveceramics.co.uk
Facebook Jo Dove Ceramics
Instagram @jodoveceramics

Maddie Rock, Artist and printmaker.

Born in Bradford, Maddie Rock developed a love of landscape through childhood explorations of city wastelands, discovering wildflowers and insects. Given a flower press one Christmas, she took pressed flowers to school, where a teacher encouraged her to set up a nature table to study and draw them. This sparked a lifelong passion for observing and depicting the natural world.

She studied Fine Art and has worked in design, teaching, and horticulture. In 2020, feeling worn out and seeking solace, she left the National Trust, knowing she needed to walk and draw. Between lockdowns, she solo-hiked the 630-mile South West Coast Path over ten weeks. The journey and ever-changing scenery had a profound and positive impact on her mental health, self-esteem, and creativity.

Since then, she has been exploring ways to describe the landscape and her connection to it through print. Now based in Somerset, she walks and sketches outdoors, collecting natural materials and earth pigments along the way. These elements feed into the development of textured collagraph plates, pushing the boundaries of materials and mark-making.

Through printmaking, she seeks to evoke the raw energy and textures of the landscapes she walks, creating pieces that echo the rhythms of nature.

Instagram: @maddierockartist

Venue name Silver Street Studios
Venue address: 15 Silver Street, Wiveliscombe TA4 2PA
Directions: At traffic lights head up hill towards town centre. Turn right onto Silver Street, venue is 70 metres on left..
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Parking Half hour parking outside of venue, limited spaces. Public car parks, North Street and Croft Way.
Toilets available, with limited access with steps.
Dogs Allowed: assistance dogs only
Accessibility Small step into venue. Slight uneven floor, old floorboards.

Artists in the parish: John Abraham, Doulla Aebli, Kate Benson,  Colette Fowler-Marson, Jos Harral, Chris Howe, Alexandra Lavizzari, Stephen Martin, Susie Palmer, Ulick Palmer, Victoria Ward, Kingsmead Art Department, Secret Island Artisan Shop, Paul Williams, Langley Moor, Rachel Gundry, Simon Healy, Rosie Boylan, Nicky Saunter, Jan Boddington

Events in the parish: School of Stitch, Red Priest, William Sitwell, Myc Riggulsford, Contrasts – A September Soiree, Kingsmead Lunchtime Concert

Parish information: Wiveliscombe has a number of great places to eat and drink including The Bear and White Hart pubs, The Phoenix Kitchen and Whelan’s Café. There are plenty of footpaths near the town centre for local walks as well as a selection of independent shops to visit.