Jessica Thompson-Lee is a ceramic artist and art educator from Kansas City, MO, and is currently living and working in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her BFA in ceramics from The University of Kansas and her MA in art education from the University of Missouri Kansas City.
Artist Statement
The majority of the open, abstract, and organic forms found in my sculptures are loosely inspired by nature-images I’ve observed of microorganisms, fungi, coral, rock formations, the human body, and insects. However, my designs always start with and are primarily created during the playful, experimental, and somewhat unpredictable process of “drawing” with clay. After filling a squeeze bottle full of porcelain slip, I squeeze liquid clay designs onto a plaster slab, never knowing exactly how the designs will turn out. This unpredictability is both an important and enjoyable part of the process; each design is unique. After being fired, each piece goes through a different type of transformation. Sometimes they become wearable art. Sometimes they are used as models and inspiration for larger carved ceramic sculptures or components of functional pieces. Sometimes they even deviate from the medium of clay and are transformed into the language of bronze.