This week’s artist spotlight, brought to you through a collaboration with the Concord Insider and the Concord Arts Market, focuses on potter Jess Smith, who lives in Concord.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself. I’m the artist behind Emerson St. Pottery. I am a hobby potter and have a small studio in my home in beautiful New Hampshire. My art is fun and quirky and weird and truly not your typical ceramic display. Though I enjoy a good pottery wheel session, hand-building with clay is really my passion. I find I can make so many things, from mugs to magnets to sculpture and more!
If you are familiar with my work, you know that I often include messages of love and inclusion. This is very important to me. I also intentionally make each of my pieces different from the next and this means that you get a one-of-a-kind piece of art that you can cherish for a very long time.
Q: What does art mean to you? Art is a form of self expression and representation. Serious, silly, weird… or, whatever! It’s an opportunity to create something unique and then share that with community.
Q: How did you first get into your craft? I have been a multimedia artist for most of my life and really began to focus on clay as my primary medium as an adult. There is something about bringing life to a lump of clay that has me hooked!
Q: Where do you find inspiration? I am inspired by my family and by things that I enjoy. Sometimes a random idea will pop into my head and I run with it.
Q: What does your creative process look like? I am definitely not a planner and I rarely have a list of things that I need or want to make. Rather, I’ll sit in my studio with a piece of clay and let my hands begin building or sculpting. I really appreciate that in-the-moment creativity and find that my best work are pieces that I hadn’t planned beforehand.
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring artists? If art is your passion, then go for it!
Jess Smith will be at the Concord Arts Market’s Arts in the Park on Saturday, September 13 in Rollins Park. For more information on her work, visit https://www.emersonstpottery.net/.
