Jo Anne Bedient
BFA: Fort Hays State University

Originally from southwest Virginia Jo Anne Bedient has emerged as one of Florida’s premier clay artists. Perhaps best known for her ceramic shoes, she blends realism and fantasy in her inventive designs.
Bedient attended the Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas graduating in 1977 with a degree in ceramics. After the arrival of their first daughter later that year, child raising took precedence over clay.
When she returned to ceramics in the late 1980’s, Bedient maintained her preference for hand building pieces instead of using a potter’s wheel. Discovering raku firing revolutionized her work. This Japanese technique involves removing red-hot pieces from the kiln and placing them in combustible material. Smoke permeates the clay and glazes creating luster, crackle patterns and richly textured colors. Each firing produces unique results and the continual experimentation of this method inspires the artist’s dramatic, whimsical and graceful works.