Kelly Jean Ohl

Kelly Jean Ohl’s ceramic work is inspired by the interconnectedness of the natural world. She works with abstract clay forms that reference the patterns and textures from the living planet. She chooses earth tone colors for her clay artwork which reflect the earth from which the clay is sourced. Kelly Jean Ohl is intrigued with the similarities of microscopic single cells organisms and macroscopic land formations, estuaries, and coastlines. These visuals are an endless source of inspiration that inform and help her grow as a contemporary ceramic artist.

Kelly Jean Ohl’s tools and techniques to create these pieces come right out of the kitchens of her two midwestern grandmothers (Violet and Inger). She uses many of their antique kitchen utensils, household tools and handmade textiles. These domestic tools provide the foundation of many of Kelly Jean Ohl’s patterns and textures. Each piece is then hand carved with dental tools, burnished, sanded, washed, and waxed before the first firing. After completing the building process, Kelly Jean Ohl hand paints each piece with natural oxides. The work then goes through a second high temperature firing at about 2400 degrees to achieve a rich, textural, and tactile finish.