- Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Belva and Donald Johnson together at their studio in Clonmel, St. Mary. The blue drums are used to store water for production and watering the gardens. At right, finished porcelain pieces produced by the Clonmel Potters.
Georgia Hemmings, Staff Reporter
A WOODEN, WHITE bungalow in Clonmel, St. Mary is the home of Belva and Donald Johnson - the Clonmel Potters, as they are known.
A cool breeze rustled the tops of the tall trees, and a flock of birds twittered overhead on the day the Outlook team visited. The birds, we later learnt, were performing a regular routine assembling for seeds tossed out daily by the Johnsons.
Flowering shrubs and potted containers produced by the artists adorn the outside and there are blue kegs for water storage and stepping stones in the unpaved yard. Hidden away among the tropical foliage of the countryside, the home sends the unmistakable message that this is 'deep country'.
It was the rustic simplicity which drew the Johnsons to the area in 1976 when they set up their small studio in this rural community. The district's quiet beauty and solitude continue to influence their work and lifestyle.
THE POTTER'S WHEEL
Simplicity is reflected in the Johnson's calm, unassuming manner as they take the team on a tour of the small studio/workshop, explaining the intricacies of the potter's wheel, molds of varying shapes and sizes, the Hodges clay used in production and the kiln located down the sloping land.
It is also evident in their candour and unaffected speech as they talk about the difficulties in finding skilled labour in the area, the increasing cost of the propane used to fire the kiln, and the low profit margins from sales.
A love for the simple life, and a fascination with nature is portrayed in the over 1,000 stoneware, earthenware and porcelain products that are artfully produced and tastefully displayed on low shelves. Leaves, buds, shells and other elements of their environment are often reproduced in their work.
"We love the solitude, the sense of being away from it all," Donald told Outlook. "Sometimes we are away from it too much, but it is pleasant and quiet and this what we want."
The Johnsons met in the 1970s when they attended the Jamaica School of Art (JSA) on North Street in Kingston, now known as the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA). He'd gone to study painting and she, graphics, but pottery caught their interest and they have never looked back since.
Donald has done extensive research on Jamaican raw materials suitable for application to the ceramics industry. His successes include casting slips and a porcelain body from local materials; the design and construction of several kilns; and a burner designed to vapourize and burn both kerosene and diesel oils.
MAIN INTEREST
Outside of pottery, his main interest is the computer and he spends a lot of time developing the couple's website at www.the clonmelpotters.com. He also experiments with the smoking of poultry, and will not miss a live broadcast of a West Indies one-day international cricket match.
Belva was born in Falmouth, Trelawny, and her early interest in art was satisfied by attendance at Saturday classes at the Junior Library supervised by Gloria Escoffery, well-known Jamaican painter (now deceased). After Westwood High School, she worked with the Jamaica Library Service during which time she attended evening classes in drawing and pottery. After a three-year stint at the JSA, she did a year of post-graduate studies, followed at the end of which she mounted her first solo exhibition 'Ceramics and Textiles'.
She describes herself as a lover of nature, and her collection of plants include ordinary as well as exotic specimens. She spends time every morning in the garden and keeps them potted because 'it is easier to maintain the watering'.
A member of the St. Mary Horticultural Society, she has won many awards, most recent being two 'blue ribbons' and seven second prizes for plants and cut flowers. Her other interests, apart from church activities, are reading, playing scrabble and walking.
"We used to indulge in snorkelling and fishing, but can no longer find the time," Belva explains. "So now it's now feeding the birds and tending to our two dogs, Skippy and Prince."
The couple have no children ('the Lord knows what he was doing' Belva states good-humouredly), so most of their time is occupied with filling orders, whether for corporate commemorative items or wedding tokens. A regular work day start is about 9:00 a.m. but, under pressure, the schedule is pushed from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and way into the early hours, when necessary.
Highest standards
"We do all the work ourselves,, attending to each piece to ensure the highest possible standards," Belva told Outlook.
Distance (and Donald's 'bad back') has severely limited their participation in trade fairs and art expositions, and most of their work is now displayed in the Clonmel Potters Gallery on Lady Musgrave Road in St. Andrew, which opened in 1993 and carries the full range of pottery produced. Shops on the north coast stock their pieces, and works are also represented in private and corporate collections around the world. On their web site, the Johnson points out that "[When we began], we did not have a reliable clay body and the kiln was inefficient and uneven. We had not yet developed a distinctive product, there was no discernible market and, most importantly, there was no working capital.
"The history of the Clonmel Potters is the story of how we struggled with each of these factors and the varying levels of success which we managed to achieve."
It is also a story of a couple growing together, complementing and accommodating each other in the quiet, enriching climes of Clonmel.
