Jessie Wright is the maker behind JAW Pottery, and her wheel’s been spinning up a storm lately. “I solidly spend at least two eight-to-10 hour days in the studio, and evenings after work I do a few things,” she says. “Every day now I’m firing the kiln.” Her line of mugs, bowls, planters and plates are bright white and buttery soft—with subtle strokes of colour, glazes she mixes and makes by hand. You can get your hands on them this weekend at the Dartmouth Makers’ market.
WHAT SHE DOES
Wright’s been working on her craft for about a decade, taking courses from the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council and the George Dixon Centre and working on her own to create a look that’s uniquely JAW (her badass initials). “I really like clean lines, comfortable hand-feel—I do a lot of really smooth straight lines or really try to perfect the circle feeling,” says Wright. “I do a lot of sanding so that every thing feels really soft in your hands. I just want it to look really good, but feel really good, too.”
WHERE SHE DOES IT
“I went through this phase of trying to find a studio space, and about two years ago I said, OK I’m either quitting or we have to buy a house so I can keep doing this,” says Wright, who after acquiring a bunch of gear—a pottery wheel, a kiln, glaze ingredients—that she had no room for, wound up buying a house in west end Halifax with her partner and turning the garage into her dream studio. “We insulated it, dry-walled, put electric in—now it’s this really nice white room.”
WHERE TO FIND HER WORK
Wright’s been busy gearing up for this weekend’s Dartmouth Makers Spring Into Summer Market—where she’ll be selling her wares Friday and Saturday—but you can also find JAW at Sattva Boutique (2453 Agricola Street), The Daily Grind Cafe and Art Market (1479 Birmingham Street), KokoMod Floral (158 Portland Street) and Trainyard General Store (53 Portland Street).
Dartmouth Makers Spring Into Summer Market
The Parish Hall, 61 Dundas Street
Fri June 2, 5-9pm and Sat June 3, 9am-4pm
