Canada
Artist, Designer, Craft Artisan
Vanessa Lee Jackson is an artist, designer and craft artisan, with master’s degree in the Interdisciplinary Master of Art, Media and Design Program from OCAD
University. She is also a graduate of the Furniture Design Program at Sheridan and
the Cabinetmaking Program at Humber. Vanessa creates furnitures and objects with a fine balance between function and aesthetics. Currently, she is an instructor for Craft & Design at Sheridan University.
Artist Statement:
I narrate my version of beauty using traditional practices of craft. I am a believer in the handmade and seek to transpose my craft skills into different contexts giving new vision to traditional aesthetics and techniques. By mixing the mediums of wood, metal, concrete, clay, textiles, dye and paint, I create eclectic contemporary designs rooted in the timeless traditions of craft. My recent works pull away from conventional furniture and object forms, shifting towards surreal, sculptural shapes focused on the movement of line. How these paths intersect, support, frame and balance one another within a piece has taken prominence over pure function. By placing my artistic emphasis on ornamentation and decoration, I am able to question the role of practicality in the designs of quotidian objects. Through experimentation with the natural properties of materials and the distortion of intuitive forms, I aim to create artefacts that transcend function existing within the realms of art, craft and design.
