I discovered The Great Pottery Throwdown on HBO here in the US in January 2022 and binge-watched all five seasons in nothing flat. TGPT was a welcome respite from the seemingly endless procession of depressing news – inflation, Ukraine, mass shootings, Covid, climate change... TGPT was the antidote I needed – a gentle show with gentle people and low stakes (no million-dollar prizes or scheming contestants here). At the helm, some wonderful hosts and judges who encouraged and supported the non-combatants with sensitivity and good humor, and sometimes even tears. That is, judge and master potter Keith Brymer Jones' tears.

He follows up with “As I walked through the factories I was highly aware of this connection between crafts and the process of production within a factory setting. It firmed up my belief that it was the material itself, the clay what it’s undoubtedly at the core of anyone who was involved in making ceramic pots and here I was, in China, experiencing first hand the enormous experience of the staff in producing it. I’m ok with China producing china (the clue is in the name! ) Thank you to Keith Brymer Jones, Dan Thompson and Marj Hogarth for the development and curation of the exhibition. It was an art school teacher, Mr Mortman, who first introduced him to pottery. One day, Brymer Jones walked into art class and found a ball of terracotta clay was waiting at his desk. “Just looking at this lump of clay washed away all the anxiety I usually felt when I was asked to do anything in class,” he writes in the book. “It felt amazing, like I was holding my own imagination in my hands.” He began sculpting an owl. “My, my, that looks very nice, Keith!”, he recalls Mr Mortman saying: a rare piece of encouragement from a teacher that would stay with him for years. We are excited to welcome potter, Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throwdown Judge and Boy in a China Shop: Life, Clay and Everything author Keith Brymer-Jones to Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft!

Is Keith Brymer Jones Welsh?

Ballet dancer. Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown . How did all that happen? Keith has featured as a judge on The Great Pottery Throw Down since the show first started in 2015, and series 5 is airing on Channel 4 now. Since training at Harefield Pottery, Keith has created ceramics for huge brands such as Laura Ashley, Habitat and Monsoon. He is also Head of Design for MAKE International. Find out more about his work here. An engaging read by an endearing, unassuming man who has always stayed true to his passions.' - Daily Mirror In addition to the Word Range, Keith has finally introduced his Studio Range in Summer 2023. A gorgeous range of stoneware products which has a more organic aesthetic compared to his Word Range. You can also try your hand at making your own clay flowers with Rita Floyd, our latest Newcastle Common artist-in-residence specially selected by Keith Brymer Jones to be in residence during the exhibition and to create a response to his work. Find out more about Rita here.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of his autobiography, The Boy In A China Shop: Life, Clay and Everything, hitting shelves Thursday 3 February 2022.It’s an attitude that baffles Brymer Jones. “I don’t get it. You’ll give yourself cancer — sit on it, and it’ll fester. No, let it all out.” Perhaps that’s why the Throw Down gets emotional. “Just thinking about it now, maybe that’s what it is with their work. They bring this work to me, and it’s so wonderful. It’s like, ‘Oh, I see you now, I get it. Look, you can do this.’ ” He pauses. “It’s a brilliant, brilliant feeling.” Ballet dancer. Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown. How did all that happen? I was really excited to see that Brymer Jones wrote a memoir and I was not disappointed. His charm and self deprecating humour really shine through. The passion and knowledge he possesses of the art of pottery, the love of music, the work ethic, the little nuggets of his live, unexpected meetings with people who made great impact on his life, it's all told in a joyful and endearing way.