Artist Statement

This piece balances etherealness with functionality, with a twist. This coil-built lamp depicts a serving pitcher with a brightly colored creature sitting on the rim. A subtle texture was added all around the pitcher to give it dimension. The piece was bisqued to cone 05, then glazed a combination of blues and pinks to create a bright ambience. The creature was underglazed entirely, with a black oxide wash lightly dusted over them to bring out the beautiful textures of the clothing and the fur. The color palette is kept simple to create balance between the piece itself and the shining light that comes from within. The golden light being emitted from the star-shaped cutouts draw the viewer in, inviting them to stay a while. These cutouts are balanced by the stars found elsewhere in the piece, both surrounding the outside of it and on the clothing of the small creature sitting on top of the pitcher. Wire is used to create a whimsy feel to the piece, bringing the stars off of the lamp entirely and into the space around it.

Artist Bio

Jess Levin earned a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase, NY, concentrating in ceramics with hints of fabrics to show the balance between the soft and the fragile. They were most recently the 2022–23 Westchester Community Foundation Fellow at Clay Art Center. They use a bright, colorful, cartoonish sculpting style to bring to life a narrative of self-exploration and expression.