Jess Rose Lauro

MFA MFCC, 2025

I work with copper to create small moments and intricate vessels of holding. Inspired by structures in nature, these pieces provide a place to hold our attention, to set aside our ever-present worries as we reflect in a moment of the strangely familiar. At the core of my practice is an exploration of material, labor, and connection. Shaping objects through processes of electroforming, forming, and smithing, I make works that navigate the  delicate balance between nature and order, chaos and control. Exploring the relationship between  artist and material, as well as viewer and object, each object carries a relationship to the body: not  only in scale, but in the gestures imparted through making. The hand is present in the formation of  the work, but is put in balance when the materiality and process is given a seat in the conversation. 

Copper, inherently soft and malleable, becomes a record of decision making with each cut, hole, or mark impressed. Through repetition and rhythm of process and form, I find presence in my labor. This rhythm creates a flow, a meditative state that allows me to persevere through what could become mundanity. A representation of labor, love, and patience, these gentle beckoning forms invite both maker and viewer to pause and connect with the work. The fragility yet familiarity of these forms encourage us to draw connections within our busy minds, finding moments for reflection. Each piece becomes a permanent yet intimate record of these explorations, celebrating the intersection of material, process, and human experience. 

A part of this experience is our attempts to understand why we do what we do. I use copper in my work for many reasons – its physical properties allow for intentional manipulation beyond many other materials. It ages, just as we do, its surface morphing through time, impacted by its environment. Naturally occurring from the earth, we mine what isn’t precious until we make it so through human manipulation. Copper is a reflection of us, and I am constantly looking to find the balance of nature and nurture, to give the material just as much agency as I have in my work. 

A Special Thank-You to: 

Doug Bucci, Mallory Weston, Brad Lunsford, Oren Harman, Ananda Voecks, and Weiwei Li