Toy Story

A fascination with traditional puppets and toys and a fondness for fairy tales has influenced ceramicist Jean Tolkovsky’s quirky style. Janet Donin got caught up in her imaginative world at home in Worplesdon.

- Janet Donin

We love your quirky designs – how did they come about?

I taught ceramics while raising my two children, but I wanted to find a unique style for my figurative work, through which to express my ideas. While visiting the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green I was fascinated by the old puppets, dolls and pull along toys, how they were constructed, their jointed limbs, and loved the painted surfaces.

Horses figure quite prominently – are they your favourite subject?

I don’t have a particular affinity with horses, although they often appear in fairy tales and myths, and work well in my theme of escape and freedom, like running away from the circus.

Why the fusion of animal and human figures?

The idea that we all hide behind a mask of some kind and may not be what we seem intrigues me. I love to create these ambiguous figures, which are sometimes simply humorous, but can also be quite dark.

Where else do you find inspiration?