Ceramic Artist · Santa Monica
Vessels that carry the everyday and the ancestral.
Wheel-thrown and hand-built forms drawn from the animal pottery of early cultures — reinterpreted in a contemporary voice.
Current Collection
Zoomorphic
Zoomorphic — from the Greek zôion (“animal”) and morphē (“form”): the incorporation of animal features into decorative elements, or the depiction of gods in animal form.
Approach
A conversation across time.
Each piece begins on the wheel and is finished by hand, combining thrown and hand-built elements so the vessel keeps the trace of the maker.
The work draws on anthropomorphic and zoomorphic pottery from Etruscan, Oaxacan, Peruvian, and Pre-Columbian traditions — the long history of animal motifs in clay.
Burnished blackware, white slip, and incised sgraffito line give each vessel its surface — ancient marking techniques worked through a contemporary hand.
About
Pearl Jusem
I graduated from Boston University with a BFA in sculpture and then went on to work as a graphic designer, eventually becoming a partner in a graphic design firm where I spent over two decades of my professional life. However, my passion for ceramics eventually drew me in, and I decided to make a career change to pursue my true calling. Now, as a full-time ceramic artist, I work out of Still Life Studios in Santa Monica, California.
As a ceramic artist, I am fascinated by the vessel and its connection to both our domestic lives and the lives of our ancestors. The vessels I create are inspired by the anthropomorphic pottery found in early ceramics of many different cultures. I believe that despite their age, these vessels still have much to reveal about the everyday as well as the spiritual. My work revolves around observing and reinterpreting these forms into my own voice.
Contact
Inquiries, commissions & studio visits.
For available work, commissions, or to arrange a visit to the studio, get in touch — I’d love to hear from you.