Montana Ceramic Designer, Missoula, MT

I’m glad you are here.

When my brother and his wife passed, I knew he needed an urn that celebrated his specific life and largeness—something that honored who he really was. That knowing changed everything. I quit my job, dove fully into clay, and utilized my ceramics degree from the University of Montana, discovering that grief and clay speak the same ancient language.

For six years now, I've been working professionally with ceramics, but it was that first summer selling full-time that showed me this path was bigger than I'd imagined. Over seven weeks, five complete strangers reached out asking for commemorative pieces for their departed loved ones. The clay was calling us all home.

My teaching style is call and response—I meet you exactly where you are, whether you need technical guidance or space to feel your way through the work. I'm not afraid to hold the therapeutic aspects of this practice, but I'm equally comfortable letting the building and the form be front-runner. Clay has its own wisdom; sometimes our job is simply to listen.

I believe in the sacred nature of making things with our hands, especially when are job is to hold both grief and gratitude. Through Gratitude Ceramics, I create functional work that celebrates life, honors memory, and holds space for the complexity of love and loss. My studio is just outside Missoula where all the transformation happens—where clay becomes ceremony, and memory takes form.

EnJOY the site and reach out if you want to ask me about my skills or experiences with all things grief or gratitude.

Big Grats,

Jess