Maker of the Week - Jonathan Garratt

Jonathan Garratt makes sculptural and functional ceramics, and will be showing his work at MADE LONDON in October.

Where did you train? What did training teach you and what do you wish it had taught you?
I learned pottery with Gordon Baldwin at Eton in 1970. He taught me that pottery making was serious, interesting and fun.

Is being a designer / maker your only job, or do you have other employment?

I do alot of slide talks for gardening groups and a little garden design too.

One favourite living designer?

Zaha Hadid, architect. Courage. Fluid, curvaceous designing with a nod towards prehistoric composition of buildings.

One favourite historical designer?

Hans Coper. A ruthless and tender grip on the business of conceiving "microarchitecture" in the form of pots.

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?

Making rainbow shaped bricks for a wall on a Lutyens bridge at Sonning on Thames.

What is your most prized item of design / craft?

A Han dynasty "Ear Cup". A wine cup with beautiful proportions and a wonderful green lead glaze.

What item of design / craft do you covet most?

A good Coper spade pot in black or white.

At age 16 who most influenced your style?

Gordon Baldwin.

Last book / film that blew your mind?

Prof. Ian Kershaw's "Hitler". Fresh as a daisy right up to the last page.

What music are you currently listening to?

A lot of African stuff. Mali,Niger,Kenya,Senegal,Congo.

How many hours do you waste on the internet each day?

Hardly any. Can't afford to waste time that way.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

Somewhere I could enjoy the garden from inside the house.Where we can eat outside. Where the nearest neighbours are 100 yards away.

Where and what is your studio?

Old dairy yard,farm in East dorset, Cranborne Chase.

Do you have a good work/life balance?

You tell me! I think so. My work is already a kind of play...

What one word would describe your feeling of doing your work?

Discovery