By Jean Stratton

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Talent, imagination, skill, and experience all come together when artisan John Shedd works on his creations.

At his Hopewell studio, which he built in 2018, he starts the process: planning, designing, carefully taking it step by step, until ultimately bringing it to fruition as it is heated in the kiln.

Many of the finished items are then displayed at The Tomato Factory Antiques & Design Center, 2 Somerset Street in Hopewell, where he has had a gallery since 2017. Others have been commissioned and then presented to the recipient, whether an individual or organization.

As he comments, “While a great deal of my work now is commissioned, the bulk of the work is speculative or made for the trade. There is a little more freedom in making things that aren’t ordered.”