Arts

A distinguished ceramics professor for 33 years at the State University of New York, Jessiman was casting about for a place to retire. Fed up with the brutal winters of upstate New York, he took a cue from The Odyssey, throwing, not an oar in the back of his pick-up, but a snow shovel, and driving south until someone asked him what it was. He landed just outside of Appomattox, and purchased the antebellum tobacco plantation “Grassydales” on 100 unspoiled acres in 1998. It would become not just his home but also the home of the Cub Creek Foundation.

Sadly, just eight years later the house burned to the ground with everything Jessiman owned including a substantial collection of artwork and ceramics amassed over the course of several decades. Undeterred, he’s been constructing a replacement (now nearly complete) almost singlehandedly. It’s a handsome barn-like structure topped with a cheery red standing-seam roof.

In addition to its schedule of visiting artist workshops, Cub Creek also provides on-site critiques, and Jessiman organizes traveling ceramic exhibitions. But the core focus of Cub Creek is its residency program, which attracts ceramic artists working in both functional and sculptural traditions from around the world. A committed teacher and firm believer in the benefit of a concentrated art experience in a communal environment, Jessiman started the residency program in 2002 specifically to help talented emerging ceramic artists from liberal arts backgrounds prepare for graduate school—in other words, students who, given the academic demands placed on them, hadn’t been able to immerse themselves in their medium to the same degree as students at art schools. During a year at Cub Creek, they can build up their portfolios and thus make themselves more competitive Master of Fine Arts program candidates. Applicants are selected based on work submitted and letters of reference. Jessiman is clear that he wants residents to have a strong work ethic.

Jessiman draws no salary, and in the same spirit of generosity he expects the residents to organize some type of community outreach effort during their stay. There are six residents who pay $475 per month for their room, studio space and Jessiman’s guidance in the form of technical support and critiques. Food and materials (they pay wholesale prices for the latter) are additional. The monthly charge covers two-thirds of the actual cost, the rest is picked up by the foundation. Residents are housed in a newly constructed facility—basic but pleasant. Cub Creek’s main studio is in a separate, open-plan building, a short walk from the residence, where each artist is allotted approximately 400 square feet.