Lingering: Contemplations in Clay is a collection of ceramic sculptures of predominantly female figures and faces with abstracted forms and dreamlike components. The works in this exhibition were created in contemplation of the lasting impact of profound life experiences – among them my mother’s dementia and the isolation of a global pandemic. These pieces are psychological self-portraits, but despite ties to personal experience they are rooted in themes familiar to almost everyone: grief, anxiety, self-doubt.

I am interested in how our memories are stored; the neural pathways and chemical interactions that write the invisible maps of our emotional lives. The symbols and markings on my figures form a kind of legend, alluding to milestones or meaningful events that would otherwise remain concealed. Overall, these pieces invite the viewer to linger, to feel something familiar, and to consider the shapes of the stories that persist in our minds

Jessica Bloch-Schulman is a figurative ceramic sculptor living in Greensboro, NC. After completing a BFA in Design at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she worked in digital media for more than 20 years before discovering clay in 2021. Her work explores the landscape of the mind, memory and the connections that bind us.