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© Jacob Chan
© Jacob Chan
© Jacob Chan
© Jacob Chan
© Jacob Chan

Jacob Chan

  • Ceramicist
  • Eastham, United Kingdom
  • Rising Star
Jacob Chan Ceramicist
© Jacob Chan

Tea pots and dragons

  • • Ceramic artist Emma Rodgers was his mentor
  • • He draws on his different cultural heritages
  • • He was a finalist on The Great Pottery Throw-down

Chinese Dragons, Foo-dogs but also modern skyscrapers are part of Jacob Chan’s iconography, as are lost and found items. The work of the young Wirral based ceramicist is in fact inspired by “traditional Chinese shapes and forms whilst the surfaces are heavily decorated in slips and oxides that contain other raw materials such as sand, slates and broken pottery collected around the coastline and mountains of Britain”. Chan, who graduated in ceramics and jewellery at the Carmarthen School of Art in 2017, was mentored by the international ceramic sculptor Emma Rodgers and in 2020 opened his own studio. Focusing on the combination of wheel thrown and sculptural ceramics and using the soda firing technique to glaze his work, Jacob creates pieces with a unique array of colours.

Read the full interview

Works

  • © Jacob Chan
  • © Jacob Chan
  • © Jacob Chan
  • © Jacob Chan
  • © Jacob Chan
Photo: © Jacob Chan
A Fiery Tea for Two

A soda fired, wheel thrown teapot glazed in a moss green over a volcanic black stoneware clay body. This teapot is made on a pottery wheel and decorated with a hand sculpted dragon head as a spout and tail for the handle. Its eyes and other details have been gilded in 24 karat gold leaf.

Length 25 cm
Width 15 cm
Height 20 cm
Diameter 15 cm

Photo: © Jacob Chan
The Guardian of Malevolence

An oriental foo dog made from deconstructed ginger jars thrown on the pottery wheel and reassembled to create this fierce half dog half lion. The piece is soda fired in a copper based glaze resulting in a combination of blood red and jade green tones. Foo dogs were placed at the entrance of buildings to ward off any evil spirits trying to cause harm.

Length 35 cm
Width 25 cm
Height 35 cm

Photo: © Jacob Chan
The Dragons of Hong Kong

A wheel thrown ginger jar with two large hand sculpted dragons circling above a dystopian Hong Kong skyline. The skyline is a combination of both old ancient Chinese buildings and new modern skyscrapers, a way to unite the past and present together. This ginger jar is soda fired and glazed in a deep oriental blue with hints of blood red and gilded 24 karat gold details.

Height 65 cm
Diameter 35 cm

Photo: © Jacob Chan
The Lonely Dragon

This ginger jar features a single hand sculpted dragon that wraps around one side of this wheel thrown vessel. Soda fired and glazed in a blood red and jade green, this piece also includes bits of broken pottery that have been collected from around the British coastline.

Width 28 cm
Height 45 cm
Diameter 25 cm

Photo: © Jacob Chan
Liquid Strength

Soda fired and glazed in an oriental blue, this teapot features a hand sculpted dragon's head and neck for a spout and tail for a handle. This fully functioning wheel thrown teapot pours perfectly and looks pretty fierce whilst doing so.

Length 25 cm
Width 16 cm
Height 15 cm
Diameter 15 cm

Enjoy an experience with Jacob Chan

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