The pleasure of art is that it can make a statement without using a single word. Such is the meaning behind Jennifer Darner Wolfe’s work, who owns JD Wolfe Pottery. Her pieces employ quiet simplicity, clean lines and lovely shapes in some pieces—like clouds and hearts.
“My work is not terribly complicated—the most important thing to me is executing good design and functional pieces,” says Wolfe. “This includes durability and stability considerations in choices of clay, glazes and firing techniques. It’s more my thought and design choices that sets my work apart.”
The studiousness yet whimsicality of Wolfe’s work is augmented by its plain usefulness—like a beautiful cake stand with gold-striped base, polka-dotted bowls and adorable cloud ring trays. She even made too-cute sets of ceramic Christmas trees for the holidays that would make anyone smile (seriously, check them out on Instagram @jdwolfepottery).
Her aesthetic reflects today’s love of modern, contemporary and timeless pieces that can be used forever. Wolfe admits her “style is hard to pin down. It’s really my own thing. I’m certainly influenced by Japanese ceramics and modern Scandinavian design.”
Wolfe’s solid background includes working for Rockdale Union Stoneware and eventually owning her own studio and gallery for 15 years on Main Street in Stoughton. After she started her family, she shifted to online sales and other outlets to sustain her career.
The artist has collaborated with big-name brands like J. Crew, Anthropologie, and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe on limited-edition pieces. Locally, she makes custom pieces for baker Curtis & Cake; event-rental business A La Crate; and she has a booth at the outdoor Dane County Farmers’ Market every Saturday.
In Madison she also ticks off the National Mustard Museum, the Madison Greenhouse Store, Alimentari, Fromagination, Hatch Art House and chefs Tory Miller and Dan Bonanno all as places or people she’s selling at or works with. Waxwing in Milwaukee and Hotel Retlaw in Fond du Lac are also customers. She also sells out of state and in her own Etsy shop, too.
Her designs are beloved by many. “There is a comfortable essence about my work that people connect to,” says Wolfe. “I’m an artist at heart. Being able to create and connect with people every day in such intimate ways—I couldn’t ask for anything more fulfilling.”
Hatch Art House, 1248 Williamson St., and etsy.com/shop/jdwolfepottery
Above images: A LA CRATE/Natural Intuition Photography