Artist Statement
I believe that seemingly everyday objects such as mugs, bowls and plates, have the power to transform individual and communal spaces. I create functional, wheel thrown ceramics, focusing on strong and simple organic lines and shapes. My inspiration comes from from the forms of trees, mountains and rivers. also from the communities where I live, work, and worship through my conversations and relationships with people. The work I make is intended to bring joy, to create welcoming spaces, and to help people slow down. I feel my work is complete when it has become part of people's everyday lives, their daily rituals and their self care.
Bio
Hope Mead is a potter and educator living and working in Camden, NJ. She is the 3rd generation of potters in her family, with both her mother and grandmother being ceramic artists and art educators. She received her BS in Art Education from Messiah College. She has been working in clay since her childhood but began to throw on the wheel more seriously in her Junior year at Messiah College and has been hooked ever since. She teaches ceramics locally with BuildaBridge International, Spiral Q, Claymobile and in her own studio. She believes in creating opportunities for all people to express themselves and to find joy in working with clay. Hope has recently begun specializing in firing woodfired anagama kilns in rural Pennsylvania. She has shown her work regionally and nationally. Hope works on both specialized commissioned work and unique handmade items being sold online at local craft events and boutiques.
