She plays with the viewer's expectations and prompts them to contemplate what they are looking at
Jo Gifford is a ceramic artist who uses clay to explore concepts of boundaries, containment, and categorization in her artistic practice. Formerly a practicing doctor, she transitioned to fine art, graduating with a First Class Honours degree from Chelsea College of Arts in 2015. Now based in her studio in Kirriemuir, Scotland, Jo creates thought-provoking ceramic vessels that challenge viewers to question their perceptions and value systems.
The Artistic Journey of Jo Gifford
Jo's practice is deeply process-led and material-based, where the physical act of making becomes integral to the final piece. Beginning with wheel-thrown vessels, she layers multiple techniques including hand building, carving, and polishing, allowing each creation to evolve naturally. Working primarily with porcelain and stoneware, she creates relatively small pieces comparable to the size of a hand, with outer surfaces that are carefully carved, polished or burnished, while some are glazed internally.
From Medicine to Clay Exploration
After a successful career in medicine, earning her MRCP in 2004, Jo followed her artistic passion to Chelsea College of Arts. This unique background informs her fascination with the vessel form and its connotations with the human body. Her work often explores how external surfaces and shapes become defining characteristics rather than what lies within—a theme that resonates with her previous medical training and provides a distinctive perspective to her ceramic art.
Slowing Down Through Craft
The deliberate, repetitive process of working with clay serves as Jo's response to our fast-paced consumer culture. Her non-functional pieces, often featuring rounded bottoms that prevent practical use, become containers of space and time rather than utilitarian objects. Since establishing her studio in Kirriemuir, partly supported by an Angus Council Business Grant in 2017, Jo has exhibited extensively across Scotland and the UK, including at the Royal Scottish Academy, Potfest Scotland, and numerous galleries. Her thoughtful approach to ceramics continues to