About the Artist
Born and raised in rural Nebraska, Jaden Estes Carlson earned her Bachelor of Art Education from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She then relocated to Pennsylvania to attain a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics at Edinboro University. Inspired by life’s growing pains and pleasures, Jaden uses hand-building techniques to bring her ceramic pieces to life. She is currently an art educator at a high school near the Omaha, NE metro area and serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. When she's not creating art or teaching, Jaden loves traveling with her husband, Cody, and spending quality time with their dog, Remi, and cat, Amelia.
Artist Statement
My work investigates the transformation of rigid systems: mathematical pattern, architectural structure, and inherited tradition, into fluid, tactile, and emotionally resonant ceramic forms. Drawing from textile logic, domestic aesthetics, and vernacular design, I explore how pattern functions as both ornament and language—a means of containment and a gesture of release.
Hand-building allows me to slow the making process, emphasizing the seam, the shard, and the visible mark of the maker. Each piece embraces imperfection as evidence of labor and narrative, pointing to the cycles we inherit and reimagine, both personal and cultural. My surfaces often reference quilt-making, mosaic, and tilework, grounding the work in a lineage of craft that is at once decorative and deeply symbolic.
Through curated color palettes and collection-based releases, I position these ceramic objects within both the art and design spheres. They are meant to live comfortably in domestic space while speaking to stories and histories far beyond it.