Jon Almeda is a miniature ceramic artist located on Oahu in Hawaii. Raised in Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest Jon finds inspiration in the ever changing cloud formations in the sky and the movement of the tides. Jon’s practice is a response to the colors, energies, textures and composition of his life. The calm cool dark waters and tall evergreens of the Pacific Northwest and the luscious flora and textures of the ocean in Hawaii. In response to his love of nature he created his own small portable pottery wheel to take out on location to create pieces outside in the open air, otherwise know as plein air pottery. In addition to pottery Jon is a photographer, musician, electrician and sculptor. Many aspects of his work combine his unique set of skills. His plein air pottery videos perfectly fuse his eye for photographic composition with his impressive throwing skills.
Jon has created a lifestyle surrounding his work, thriving on creativity and pushing boundaries. Jon is a self taught artist and for many years threw large scale pieces with a “bigger is better mentality”. Years ago he came across a book called “Creating Ceramic Miniatures” that dramatically changed his outlook and approach. He went the opposite direction and started to see how small he could throw. He discovered that working small was much harder then he imagined, he tested different clay bodies, made his own tools and tried new techniques to improve the detail of each new piece. After 17 years of creating miniatures he is still challenging himself to improve and to try new things with each kiln load. Almeda’s pieces are so impressive because without any scale or context they look exactly like their larger counterpart in detail and proportion. His glazes are varied and rich and each piece is truly a one of kind treasure.
