Hello! I’m Jay, and I use he/him and they/them pronouns. I attended the Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, where I earned my BFA in 2024. I began working with clay during the second year of my program, and I haven't stopped since.
During school, I focused on large scale concept-driven sculpture. Clay as a material was essential for this work due to its innate relationship to the human body, and its nature as a uniquely time- and labor-intensive material. Much of my sculptural ceramic work is focused around themes of trauma—how to physicalize the internal effects of trauma as well as how to go about processing and healing from it. My senior thesis project delved specifically into my identity as a transmasculine person, focusing on how medically transitioning has allowed me to become gentler with myself.
After graduating, I leaned into my belief that the objects we keep and use every day matter. They should be functional, yes, and they should also bring us joy; there is no better avenue for this than the handmade. It is this belief that informs my pottery practice. I strive to create pots that are not only durable and food-safe, but also bring light and beauty into their users' days.
