The son of potter Paul JACKSON, Jethro spent his childhood on the edge of Bodmin moor. He attended school in Bodmin and went on to study at Falmouth College of Art. A degree in Illustration followed, in Manchester, and he subsequently returned to Cornwall to work as a landscape gardener. Alongside this he developed his pottery skills.

In 2010 he opened Porthilly Gallery, near Rock, and decided to move away from pottery to focus on landscape painting. A sculpture garden adjoining the gallery and studio is due to open in April 2019.