September 9 – October 11, 2025
Sales Gallery & Online
Jennifer Fujimoto, Lee Love, Masa Sasaki, Will Swanson
Jennifer Fujimoto, Guillermo Guardia, Lee Love, Will Swanson
About the Artists
Jennifer Fujimoto
Seattle, WA
I grew up in Oregon and spent holidays with family in Hawaii, where I was born. After earning a BFA in graphic design, I began a 20+ year career working in small creative agencies and tech companies. In 2017, I stepped away from the computer to pursue my dream of becoming an independent artist.
I work out of my home studio, creating whimsical ceramic art and functional decor inspired by Japanese folk art. My art conveys themes rooted in my mixed-race heritage and the universal desire for connection with others. It features delightfully expressive faces and simple line art with bold splashes of color and references traditional Japanese and European motifs.
Lee Love
Minneapolis, MN
“I make and use handmade functional pottery as an antidote to the modern tendency toward the use of things made by machine, things made without heart or beauty, for the mere goal of profit. What makes human beings unique? Not our ability to make things—insects can do this; nor our ability to reason—in the near future, machines will be able to do this. What makes human beings unique is our ability to recognize and cherish beauty. My goal is to make things for everyday use that allow users to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n, take a breath, and observe the natural beauty that surrounds them.”
Masa Sasaki
Atlanta, GA
Masa Sasaki is a classically-trained artist with multi-faceted interests. He is an accomplished pianist, award-winning painter, and uniquely stylistic potter. Since moving from his native Japan in the late 1980s, he has impressed teachers, patrons, and his fellow artists with his unique sense of precision and artistic vision.
“We live in the world where we are surrounded by machine-made and mass-produced goods today. I feel, as a contemporary craftsman, the need to validate the value of handmade items by making things that could not be easily duplicated and unique to my own artistic perspective. For me it is not enough that a final piece be essentially functional and pleasant, it must also be lasting in its desirability for use. Long after I have ceased to be productive the pieces that I accomplish today should still be enjoyed, appreciated, and used. This is the elusive quality that brings value to functional art, the lasting character that transcends the artist and outlives him. Whether in my paintings, musical composition, sculpture or pottery I desire most of all that the usefulness and aesthetic appeal be both easily perceived, and lasting.
Will Swanson
Harris, MN
Will Swanson uses stoneware and porcelain clays to create dinnerware, baking and serving dishes, vases, and other useful pots for the kitchen and table. His pots are individually wheel-thrown, and often are altered or assembled from wheel-thrown parts. In all his work, Swanson wants to make pots that attain a satisfying simplicity while allowing the character of the earth materials and the hand-making process to be evident. Swanson shares his studio with his wife Janel Jacobson and together they welcome potters and visitors to the annual St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour.