Midwest Clay Project

INSTRUCTOR and STAFF BIOS

Owner and founder Jennifer Lapham brings over twenty years experience as an artist and educator to Midwest Clay Project.  Lapham decided to pursue her interest in ceramics shortly after receiving a BA (1988) in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD, completing two years of post-baccalaureate studies (1993) at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, NY.  Immediately following, she lived, worked and traveled in Japan for a summer where she had opportunities to learn about the tradition of Japanese ceramics. Lapham received her MFA (1996) in ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and began an eleven year stretch teaching in academia, including positions as Visiting Faculty in Art at Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  In 2000, she began serving as Gallery Director and Adjunct Faculty in Art at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL.  She held this position until 2007 when she and her family moved to Madison.  In addition to her work as an educator, Lapham exhibited her artwork nationally from 1996-2007, which included collaborative projects with her partner Paul Sacaridiz.

Canadian artist Jeremy Hatch is best recognized for his large-scale porcelain installations that explore ideas of nostalgia and the in/authenticity of memory. He has received several research/production/travel grants and attended residencies at the Takumi Studios in Japan, the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the Archie Bray Foundation, where he was the recipient of the Taunt Fellowship.  Since receiving his MFA at Alfred University, Jeremy has taught at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and the Rhode Island School of Design and is currently a Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  In 2008, he founded Ricochet Studio as a means to explore the intersections between craft, art and design.  One goal of Ricochet is to collaborate with artists from various disciplines to develop limited edition ceramic products.  Azure Magazine recently named him one of the “top 25 designers leading the pack”. (www.jeremyhatch.ca) (www.ricochetstudio.com)

Paul Sacaridiz received an MFA (1998) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BFA from Alfred University (1993).  Since 1997 he has been active in solo exhibitions, collaborative projects and group shows at a diverse number of venues including: The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the Icheon World Ceramic Center, Icheon, Korea, The Dubuque Museum of Art (IA), The Alfedena Gallery, Chicago, The Northern Illinois University Art Museum and the Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University. His work has been the subject of reviews and articles in Ceramics: Art and Perception, The New Art Examiner and Art Papers among others.  Sacaridiz has been the recipient of residencies at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, The Ragdale Foundation, The Vermont Studio Center and the Art/Industry Program at Kohler Company.  He is currently an Associate Professor in the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (www.paulsacaridiz.com) and serves as an advisor to Midwest Clay Project.

Studio Manager Jackie “J-Money” Matelski graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in ceramics and photography.  In the summer of 2009, she was granted a work-study position to attend a workshop in clay at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and flew her bike to Portland, ME and road up the coast to get there. She has also interned at Santa Fe Clay in New Mexico. Her work as a potter is concerned with function, comfort, practicality, and every day use of ceramic vessels.  In addition to her extensive ceramic work, Jackie has a deep interest in organic farming and spent time on Orcas Island off the coast of Washington working on a small organic vegetable farm gardening, working the farmers market, baking, crafting and making pottery.  She loves adventure, the outdoors, mountains, the smell of trees, music, frivolity, spontaneity and nice shoes.  In her spare time she volunteers with the Dane County Farmer’s Market and other local food organizations around the Madison Area. “I don’t get why people like brunch. What’s the benefit of combining break dancing and lunch? ” – Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock (jackiematelski.com)

Gallery Coordinator and Studio Assistant, Zoë Skemp, enjoys oil painting, jewelry making, ceramics, printmaking, photography, sewing/fashion design, crocheting, beading, and graphic design. She is from Madison and studied Printmaking at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She also has 17 years of dancing experience. Other interests outside of art include, spiritual health and acceptance, pretty power, her dorky old black cat, self love, chocolate, ‘queer’ culture, anthropology, and all the wonderful people and energies in her life. For the last year she has been helping with production and set design of the local dance company, Kanopy Dance. She enjoys porcelain hand-building, with emphasis in the human form.

Josh Hebbert, Special Projects Coordinator, hails from Western Nebraska, where he grew up on his family’s ranch.  He received a BFA in 2009 for his studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.  He has since worked at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (ME), Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (TN), volunteered at the Museum of Contemporary Craft (OR), and participated in 25 Days of Building, a residency at 22 Floors (NE).  He was a featured artist at Ecrin, an exposition in the United Kingdom, and has shown his work in Nebraska, Maine, Indiana and Wisconsin.  He is currently a post-bacc student in Ceramics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.