Jo primarily works with light stoneware and porcelain to make functional and non-functional wares that people can use and love in their everyday. Like any good ADHDer, they also paint and create in other mediums as well. When it comes to pottery however, they’re currently in what they’re calling their “Whimsey Era,” emphasizing play and joy as a form of resistance.

Pottery has played in important role in thier 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. They can still remember, as a kid, seeing one of their more intricate slip-cast pieces, The Nude. That piece sparked thier love of pottery and continues to inspire them today. (Jo’s learning to slip-cast, so stay tuned for that magic.)