Ceramicist Jane Sheppard studied at Bath Spa University. She has been awarded grants from South West Arts and The British Council, allowing her to travel extensively from East to South Africa to research the use of clay as a spiritual medium, and lead workshops at the University of Namibia. She exhibited for many years under her maiden name, Jane Day, and JD remains her signature mark. Jane has exhibited at Selfridges London, St Ives Gallery, Cornwall, Gallery 27 on Cork Street, London, and Kate Chertavian Fine Art. She is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association.
Jane Sheppard makes work which explores our shared human experience, reaching back to our ancestors and connecting us with our distant past using ancient methods of working with clay. Through a process of hand coiling, smoke firing and burnishing, she creates forms and vessels that echo our earliest experience of hand shaping the earth, using simple resist techniques to add primitive surface details such as dots and circles.