sarah jo messer (aka: sludge femme) is a ceramic artist and sex educator who works out of their home studio near Lake Superior. They draw inspiration from their various relationships (with their own body, with nature, and with their far-flung communities) and their experiences as a community member and organizer to play with the concepts of belonging and longing, the personal and political, and the power of owning our own stories.
They also make things just for fun.
Sarah Jo Messer primarily works with light stoneware and porcelain to make functional wares that people can use and love in their everyday.
Pottery has played in important role in her healing practice. Working with clay encourages us to center, ground, and remain embodied. Not only does it center us in our own bodies, but it grounds us in the world around us. While working with clay, we are at the will of the elements. It’s a very humbling medium.
Sarah Jo Messer is the grandchild of Joe and Eunice Messer, the beautiful humans behind Ceramics by Messer. Their story has always been an inspiration to Sarah Jo. She can still remember, as a kid, seeing one of their more intricate slip-cast pieces, The Nude. That piece sparked her love of pottery and continues to inspire her today. (She’s learning to slip-cast, so stay tuned for that magic.)
