Jennifer Cherpock, Bio and Artist's Statement

Jennifer’s interest in the arts began at the early age of five when she took oil painting lessons from an elderly painter. Her interest continued throughout her childhood and early adulthood as she experimented with various media. She obtained a business degree from Montclair State University and pursued her interest in metal casting as an elective.

As she worked as CPA, her desire to be creative and expressive could not be extinguished. In her spare time, she took various adult education classes at The Old Church Cultural Center in Demarest, NJ. It wasn’t until she went into the basement of the studio and saw the pottery wheels lined up, did I consider ceramics. After her first wheel-throwing class she was immediately hooked. She had finally found the medium that allowed her to express herself in the way she needed to.

After a few years of studying under great potters such as Susan Beecher and Sara Peterson in NJ, Jennifer moved to Los Angeles and began working independently at The Clayhouse in Santa Monica, then at the Xiem Clay Center in Pasadena. She continued her ceramic education through workshops from famed potters on varied topics.

Jennifer once again resides in NJ and is a current artist member of the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY and a former children’s outreach program educator. She is a ceramics instructor for children, teens and adults at the Rockland Center for the Arts in Nyack, NY and gives workshops on her unique techniques. She travels throughout the northeast selling her ceramics at some of the top art exhibitions in the country. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the m.t. burton Gallery, the Bruce Museum, and the Montclair Art Museum.

My body of work entitled Painted Desert Series is my attempt to bring solitude and peace to a world of overpopulation, screeching traffic and screaming sirens, where in every minute something must be accomplished or it is considered wasted, where 9 to 5 has turned into 8 to 7.

My goal in my work is to encourage myself and others to set aside time to quiet our minds and reflect on our souls, to enjoy and appreciate the natural elements of the earth, the earth literally in the form of clay and the sound of flowing water, which is all around us but seldom given the attention it deserves. My work is based on these elements of earth and water and brings the natural beauty of them into our everyday lives which has been polluted with artificial light, chemicals and genetically engineered substances. My intention is to return to the basics.

Each piece that emerges from the kiln is a surprise, not unlike the surprises in our lives. Neither can be predicted nor relied upon. We need to appreciate when a piece or an event turns out just as we wanted and to adapt when it does not. In those situations where there is disappointment, there is not failure because in every experience there is a measure of success to be found.

All pieces have been wheel thrown and altered. The porcelain and stoneware clay bodies have been high fired to Cone 10. All glazes used on functional pieces are food safe.