April 5, 2026

Makers Dozen - Q & A with Siobhan Joan

Welcome to the Makers Dozen. We ask a Guild member a dozen quickfire questions about their life as a maker.

Today we talk to ceramicist Siobhan Joan.

Siobhan Joan is a potter focussing on wheel thrown domestic stoneware. She has been making pottery for over ten years and previously studied Fine Art at Central Saint Martins.

Which three words best describe your work?

Calm, minimal, natural.

How long have you been a maker?

I’ve always had an impulse to create and knew I wanted to be an artist from a very young age. I discovered clay only 10 years ago though, after my degree in Fine Art.

What is the best part of your process?

The quiet solitary process of throwing on the wheel. Using natural materials from the earth and transforming them into useful, durable, beautiful objects. Opening the kiln after a glaze firing and seeing all the glazes totally transformed by heat.

What is the hardest part of your process?

When the glaze firing goes wrong. You can’t always completely control which way it’s going to go. Grayson Perry describes firing as ‘controlled disappointment,’ to which I can relate.

Do you have a favourite book about your craft?

I couldn’t put down 'The White Road' by Edmund de Waal. Such a beautifully written exploration of porcelain that encompasses material, history, and culture.

What are you reading?

I’m finally getting around to reading 'Wuthering Heights'. Also on the go is 'The Healing Season of Pottery' by Korean author Yeon Somin. I just finished 'I Who Have Never Known Men' by Jacqueline Harpman - fantastic but brutal.

What is your favourite film?

I love Mirror and Stalker by Tarkovsky. The cinematography is beautiful and every time I watch them, I see something new.

What do you listen to in your studio?

I love audiobooks when I’m throwing and I get totally absorbed and lost in another world (most recently Stephen Fry’s Mythos). Sometimes BBC 6 Music. And my current favourite album on repeat is Howl by Daisy Rickman.

What one thing would improve your life as a maker?

A pug mill! Recycling and wedging clay hurts my bendy wrists! And a warmer studio.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

Really practical advice about pricing and valuing my time and work. They don’t teach you this at art school!

What is the question you are asked the most?

What my glazes are made from. I’m always grateful for this question because it starts a conversation about materials that goes beyond ceramics - about the ethics of sourcing and our impact around the world, for example the dangers of cobalt mining in Congo.

Life as a maker can be challenging, what keeps you going?

Knowing my ceramics live in homes around the world and seeing the peaceful little moments people share with my pots through photos, is one of the greatest joys of what I do.

Thank you, Siobhan!