MOVING ON: Potter John Shedd, a fixture in Rocky Hill for decades, is relocating his shop and studio to Hopewell. The stalled bridge repair work on Route 518 has kept customers away for too long, making a major dent in his important holiday sales season. Look for John Shedd Designs this spring in Hopewell’s Tomato Factory. 

For John Shedd, the idea of moving his pottery studio from Rocky Hill to Hopewell is nothing new. He has mulled it over for years.

But the extended closing of the bridge over the D&R Canal on Route 518, a consequence of the Gov. Christie-ordered shutdown on all state-funded road projects last summer, has brought the potter to a decision. John Shedd Designs, a fixture near the bridge since 1979, will close in the next few months, possibly as early as March (Work resumed on the bridge on November 1 and is projected to be completed early this year).

Mr. Shedd won’t disappear from the local arts scene. He plans to show his distinctive plates, bowls, trays, table-tops, and other hand-crafted ceramics in two rooms at Hopewell’s Tomato Factory, and hopes to build a new studio on property nearby. But the difficulties of the last few months have left him feeling frustrated.

“We’ve made it through three floods — in 1999, 2007, and 2011. But this is too much,” Mr. Shedd said during a chat at his studio in an old grist mill. “The bridge closing interrupted my Christmas season, which is the three to four months when I make most of my income. Business is off 60 percent. The handwriting is on the wall — either move or die.”

Taking a break from unloading clay last Friday in the shop at the front of the studio, Mr. Shedd reflected on his decades in Rocky Hill. A light layer of dust lay on the rows of handmade works of art — most by him; some by other artisans. Mr. Shedd’s pottery is familiar not only to regular visitors to the shop, but also to patrons of the local restaurants Mistral, elements, Tre Piani, and 153.

Exhibiting in shows was a major part of his early career. “I started with big ideas of being an international star,” he said. “I did a lot of shows. It was satisfying, but brutal. I didn’t have time for anything else.” He stepped away from the show circuit after developing a strong local following. Mr. Shedd also spent eight years producing pieces for hotels.

He has been working on a local basis since 2002, producing pieces for established customers, restaurants, and mail order. The swirls of color and texture in his pieces are as much about chemistry as about art. “I like puzzles,” he said. “You owe a great debt to science with this stuff. You have to have a thorough knowledge of the limitations. There’s a crime here, and you have to figure out who did it. Nothing happens in a vacuum. This is a very dynamic environment.”

Calling himself “more a baker than a maker,” Mr. Shedd is more interested in how glazes respond to temperature than how a piece is actually made. “I like the firing,” he said. “I like finding why crystals will grow in one layer and not another.”

He is also a licensed pilot. “Your perception of the environment is so important. Sometimes when I fly, I see aspects of lighting that can show up in my work,” he said.

Coming from a family of engineers, it isn’t surprising that Mr. Shedd leans toward the scientific aspect of his craft. He grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and graduated from Rockford College with a major in ceramics before earning a master’s degree in ceramics at Rochester Institute of Technology. He settled in New Jersey after working for potters in Taos, New Mexico and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, having realized that a lot of pieces were being shipped to the Garden State.

“It seemed that everything was happening in New Jersey,” he recalled. “I found this building for sale — an old grist mill, parts of which date from 1703. It was owned by John Hart during the Revolution. He also had mills in Griggstown and Kingston.” The building’s two-foot-thick bluestone walls were part of its appeal. Mr. Shedd is heartened by the possibility that a landscaper who says he will maintain its integrity is considering purchasing the building.

Leaving won’t be easy. “It’s bittersweet, of course,” he said. “I have a lot of memories in this place. In the summer, when the towpath is open, people are all around. A lot of people have been coming by recently and they’re upset that we’re closing. But I’m not moving that far away. It’s just a shame there had to be so much disruption.”