Hello,

My name is Josephine, I grew up in the woods of Western Massachusetts making fairy houses, mashing berries to make potions, and working with my dad in his woodshop. Many of these memories flow into my love for illustrating nature, flowers, and fluffy clouded skies. I am equally inspired by home, following the Danish side of my family and capturing feelings of Hugge in apartment scenes and settings.

 

I am a ceramic artist and teacher who started in Boston MA, working in studios teaching others and making my own work.

I started Josephine Mae Design in November of 2022 and since have launched my online store and participate in various in-person markets. I moved in October of 2023 to Kealakekua, Hawaii, where I am continuing to make work and spend more time outside doing what I love.

 

I started my ceramic journey in high school, in 2013, when visiting my best friends mom in the ceramic studio as her student. I have always loved working with my hands, but ceramics quickly took my focus. I dabbled in many artistic mediums throughout my childhood and was bitten by the ceramic bug. Ceramics was something I started exploring and I continued to enjoy throwing on the wheel from time to time. This was when I began developing my foundational throwing skills and absorbing the basics of what I (10 years later) would be teaching others.

 

I received my Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College, MA (Class of 2020) with a degree in Sociology and Visual Art. During my senior year of college, I chose to concentrate on clay and slip-casting for my Visual Art thesis. Many of the images under the Portfolio Tab are from completed course work while I pursued my Visual Art major. Much of my inspiration during undergrad came from sociological conversations, and my medium was influenced by the liberal arts program. Incorporating meaning into my work often came from social issues or commentary on a certain perspective. As I experimented with different ways of thought and style I got to know more about my preference's while creating. I found myself attracted to function, comfort, illustration and pleasing visual design. While in school, I had the opportunity to get funding for a winter internship that opened my eyes to more techniques and possibilities in the ceramic field. While finishing my senior year from home during the pandemic, I continued to think of how my ceramic style would combine many of the mediums I enjoyed working in. I found that the forms I created were often the canvas I excitedly inlayed my sketchbook illustrations on.

 

Upon graduation, I went on to teach ceramic classes in the Greater Boston area in combination with working under 2 ceramic artists for over a year. In the fall of 2021, I took a work exchange opportunity and moved to Hawaii for 6 months and learned more about what compels me to be an artist. After moving back to Boston, I remained a teacher for Indigo Fire Studio and started an independent study to produce my own work seriously for the first time.

 

In November of 2022, I declared my small business Josephine Mae Design. I moved to Kealakekua, Hawaii in 2023. I am currently running my business primarily in person and quarterly online shop updates a year. Each piece I create and sell I hope finds a home with someone who's life is enriched with a usable piece of art. 

 

Thank you for taking your time to get to know me and my work. 

My Best, 

Josephine Mae