[9] In 2012, Doherty exhibited alongside Japanese potter Tomoo Hamada, celebrating the signing of an official declaration of friendship between the towns of St. Ives and Mashiko, Tochigi, Japan, by the two respective mayors on 20 September 2012.
Finally, he uses a single soda-firing technique,[14] executed by spraying a mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate into the kiln at a high temperature.
The resulting vapour is drawn through the kiln chamber where it reacts with the silica and alumina present in the clay, creating a rich patina of surface texture and colour.
Looking at the rustic surface textures, the palettes of smoky and sometimes vibrant colours and the simplicity of the irregular shapes thrown by Doherty, the vessels exhume transient visceral qualities reminiscent of the Japanese aesthetics of Wabi-sabi and Shibui, no doubt having been influenced by the work of the late modernist Bernard Leach (Doherty being the previous lead potter of The Leach Pottery), as well as the politics of work as laid out by John Ruskin.
Vernacularism as a cultural phenomenon thus plays a large part in the work of Doherty, and it can, therefore, be seen as a product of the Arts and Crafts movement and, associated with it, the writings of William Morris.