Q2 Awareness Post: Jess Palmer

Jess Palmer is a studio potter working in Port Chester, New York. She primarily works in porcelain and uses incised lines, stamping, slip trailing as key parts of her surface vocabulary. Drawing on geometry, line, pattern, repetition, and historical graphic elements, she explores the intersection of design, art and craft where surface decoration and form work together. Her background in graphic design directly influences her pattern-rich decoration.

Palmer received a BFA in Communication Design from SUNY Buffalo before shifting to ceramics. Her work has been published in Pottery Making Illustrated and Ceramics Monthly, and she has exhibited shows in national invitational exhibitions like The Clay Studio, Clay Art Center, Baltimore Clayworks, and more.

Because she comes from a design background, her carved patterns are intentional and graphic that almost remind me of printed textiles translated into clay. Below are some visual examples of her work that I pulled from her website.

Deco Bowls, Porcelain, 2020

Cut-rim Vase, Porcelain, 2020

Her work is really inspiring because of how she fuses design thinking with traditional pottery. I like how her surface work makes you see the form differently, its almost like the decoration becomes a structural element. Particularly, her bowls and cups feel carefully proportioned so that the carved patterns wrap naturally around the vessel which emphasizes the curve of the form instead of flattening it. I really enjoy how she plays with negative space in the cut-rim vase piece, that detail is definitely something I would like to explore in future pieces. In my own work, I'd like to explore how engraved patterns can guide the eye around a pot, creating harmony or maybe tension with the shape.

If you want to know more, you can explore Jess Palmer's website here: www.jesspalmerceramics.com