Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Sasso.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started working with clay a little over six years ago, though in some ways, the seeds were planted long before that. I grew up in a strict household where perfectionism was the standard, and I wasn’t always encouraged to express myself freely. Clay became the medium that allowed me to unlearn that rigidity—through it, I found a language of release, imperfection, and reclamation.
I moved to the West Coast and began working with artists, which deepened my understanding of ceramics both as a craft and a personal practice. What began as curiosity quickly became obsession—I threw myself into learning, experimenting, failing, and falling in love with the process over and over again. Eventually, I started a small pottery business, selling functional wares while developing a body of sculptural work rooted in memory and personal healing.
Over time, I realized that my deeper artistic voice was calling for more space. I stepped back from the business side to protect that voice—to let myself explore without the pressure to sell or produce. These days, I work full-time as a ceramic artisan while continuing to evolve my independent practice. I’m especially interested in how clay holds contradiction: softness and strength, permanence and fragility, utility and story. I think that’s where my work lives too—somewhere in between what I’ve survived and what I’m still learning to become.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road—but I think that’s part of what makes the work meaningful. Ceramics itself is a practice of patience and surrender; things crack, collapse, or warp in ways you can’t predict. And that’s mirrored so much of my personal journey.
There were emotional and financial struggles—times when I questioned whether I was cut out for this, or whether I’d ever feel fully supported doing what I love. I’ve wrestled with perfectionism, comparison, and the tendency to overextend myself to prove my worth, both in and out of the studio.
But in every challenge, clay has been the anchor. It’s taught me how to stay with discomfort, how to let go of control, and how to start again.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work lives at the intersection of function, emotion, and memory. I create both wheel-thrown pottery and sculptural pieces—often hand-altered or wrapped in chain—that explore themes of containment, identity, and release. My background in wheel work gave me a strong technical foundation, but over time I’ve become more drawn to forms that feel personal, imperfect, and emotionally charged.
I’m especially interested in how clay can mirror the body—its strength, its fragility, its capacity to hold and be held. Some of my sculptural work is rooted in Roman ceramic traditions but reimagined through a contemporary, more intimate lens. I see it as a reclamation of both personal and ancestral narratives—my last name, Sasso, means “stone” in Italian, and my work often feels like a conversation between softness and hardness, freedom and restraint.
What I’m most proud of is not any single piece, but the fact that I’ve allowed my practice to evolve alongside me. I’ve learned to prioritize honesty over output, and intuition over approval.
How do you define success?
Success, to me, is creating from a place of truth rather than pressure. It’s when my work feels aligned with who I am—and when it resonates with others in a real, emotional way. If I can live in integrity with my craft and still have space to rest and be human, that’s enough.
Pricing:
- Chains: $100+
- Vases: $150+
- Sculptural Work: $500+
Contact Info:
- Instagram: sasso_stoneware
Image Credits
Kelly Mustapha-Kellett
William Callan
Zilah Drahan
Anastasia Parks
