How it all began

Hey, my name is James Stenson and I am a small-scale ceramics artist based out of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

After living in Scotland for a number of years, I returned to NL in 2016 and began taking art seriously. I am mostly self-taught in my ceramic methods, but have had the distinct privilege of mentoring under professional artists such as Alexis Templeton, Wendy Shirran, Heather Smit, Meredith Host and Sue Tirell.

I have a background in design and carpentry, but have always felt the itch to create outside those boundaries. Working with clay allowed me to focus on making useful, expressive works of art using one of the oldest and most commonly found materials… earth!

I am always looking to integrate tools and methods not traditionally used in ceramics, trying to push the perspective of what pottery can be.

My process reflects the continuous balance between delicacy and force. I am very dedicated to the challenge of hand-building, he uses primarily a soft slab construction method and firing to ^6/7. 

Approach

I am a small-scale studio artist, focusing on individual pieces over production. With my ceramics, I look to explore various surface design techniques, such as airbrush, printmaking methods and various lustres.

My philosophical practice focuses on disassembling the barriers between the average person and fine art. This is through acknowledging accessibility and financial obstacles, and continuously working on ways to offer handmade items to a diverse and growing demographic

When I’m not making ceramics, I drive a Zamboni and I dedicate most my spare spend afternoons to hiking with my dogs, Rocket, Hector & Storm