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Jess from Jessica Marie Ceramics has been practicing pottery since 2013. After graduating with her BFA from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2017 she moved to the Bay area California to teach pottery and work on building her business. In 2019 her husband and her left the bay area and moved to Columbus Ohio where they currently reside with their daughter, and three dogs. Today Jess works full time as a potter, along side her employees, and sells her work online, at markets, and in various shops and galleries around the country. When she can, Jess also still teaches workshops and private classes.
When talking about her body of work, Jessica said, “My artwork explores the consistent and intimate functional role ceramics plays in our daily lives. Ceramics as a medium is one of the only arts that has a daily interactive utilitarian function, and I am fascinated by the idea of having such an ordinary object be so functional, but also so beautiful. I aim to explore the idea of elevating and beautifying such ordinary objects, while keeping them extremely functional.
My fascination for this medium began after I had experienced traumatic assaults at my religious institution, and how my community of faith attempted to cover up my attacks, protect my attacker, and silence me. I turned to my creativity, and eventually pottery to try and make sense of what I had experienced, and navigate a loss of self, faith, and community. I found tremendous comfort and connection in a medium that is so constant, consistent, and everlasting in the human experience. As I healed I developed a deep connection to nature and began to express the beauty I was recognizing outdoors, in my work. My relationship with my work begins with how the object functions, after which I focus on how to elevate it and express the joy and connection I feel when I am in nature. I am drawn to bright colors and intricate surface designs that stems from my love of flowers, and I express that fascination in my work. My hope is that in experiencing my work, and using it, you will feel the same joy I felt when making it.”
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