Current Resident Artists

Stephanie Gesswein

I handbuild all of my pieces and use very minimal glaze to highlight the raw beauty of the clay itself. I love experimenting with form and texture. Recently I have been adding handmade ceramic beads to my pieces. I fire the form and the beads separately, assembling after the firing is complete. This allows me to sit down with the handbuilt piece and the beads and slowly pick out a color pallet. I love the methodical intentionality of this process. It brings me a lot of joy. I also passionately Love to make ceramic jewelry. One of the first things I made in my very first ceramics class in 2013 was a pair of ceramic studs and I’ve loved exploring new shapes and movement ever since.

Jason Rojas

Jason was born in Tequisquiapan, Mexico, and moved to the Midwest at six years old. For the last decade, he has worked as a professional actor across the US. He now lives in Asheville and has rediscovered his passion for pottery. After finding his artistic home at Odyssey Clayworks, he is now a full-time potter and loving every second of it. He thanks his wife, Thallis, for pushing him to create and to never give up.

Pottery is a beautiful marriage of nature and art. I am in awe of how we can take raw materials and bring them to life. I feel it in every pot. Its amazing to me that the simplest form still holds the energy and personality of its maker. It’s remarkable that a pot, a static object, can contain so much movement. If a piece can stir emotion, nostalgia, memory and/or joy, to me, it is work that sings. This is the kind of work I strive to make, the kind of work that inspires awe.

Pez Rivera

I’ve been a sculptor since my first container of play-dough and while I’m extremely intimidated by our world and the people in it- my fascination with them also started at an incredibly young age. Showcasing human personalities and figures through crafting has healed many of my own personal wounds and unexpectedly captivated a large, relatable audience for my work. I couldn’t permanently stray from the figure if I tried, but this support encourages me to continue the study of human bodies and their endless characteristics with a bit more vigor and discipline. While our reality inspires all I make, my natural hand is ironically on the cartoonish side of art. By leaning into this silliness, I reinforce the reflective nature in my work by mirroring the boundless spiral that is human complexity.

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Marian Draper

I make large-scale, sculptural vessels. I challenge practicality, as my vessels focus on proportion, scale, and volume. I exaggerate volume and proportion, creating indulgent forms and generous compositions. Captivated by bulbous and elevated forms, my vessels push against the boundaries of structural integrity, exploring material capabilities. On some level, my work could be utilitarian; but not all of my work is intended for use. I produce regal objects, celebrating process and material. Through my examination of form, my vessels expand the realm of utility, oscillating between sculptural and functional material studies.

Haley Cloyd

Growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, known as the "Holy City," I was surrounded by an omnipresence of religion and spirituality set within a hauntingly beautiful landscape. Even as a young child, I could feel the communal piousness and compulsory “southern charm” clash with an underlying despair that echoes the denial of historic racism, sexism, and violence.

I find myself captivated by this tension; an interplay between violent justice and spiritual forgiveness. I seek to reflect this in my ceramic artwork, where working with clay on the pottery wheel is a spiritual experience on its own. It synchronizes body and breath; creating a rhythmic connection to the Earth that mirrors our ceaseless quest for definition and meaning. Transforming clay with my fingers is both meditation and prayer.

My work comprises tight, modern, functional forms such as lidded jars, mugs, lamps, hanging pendant lights, and incense burners; featuring underglaze illustrations that juxtapose symbols from folklore, nature, Christianity, alchemy, and spirituality.

Kelsey Sickmeyer

Making pots has been a form of my own art therapy. It has been where I waver between gestural and concise, functional and creative, tight forms and loose glazes, exact angles and messy colors. Balance was something I was always striving for in my work and in my life. As I continue this exploration throughout my own life transitions, I want to spend more time exploring the line between fun and functional. I'm excited to see where my work goes during my time as a resident here at Odyssey!

Meet The Crew