Jessica Steinhäuser is an award-winning Canadian ceramic artist who works on a grand scale, breathing new life into the ancient tradition of building Kachelöfen. Kachelöfen are massive clay stoves that burn wood efficiently and cleanly. For Jessica, they are akin to giant blank canvases that she turns into stunning contemporary art installations that warm both body and soul.
Diagnosed with dyslexia while in grade school, Jessica decided early in life to work with her hands, and she chose pottery as her medium. She studied formally in Germany for four years.
Jessica then took a leap of faith and immigrated to Canada at age 22, establishing Stonehouse Pottery in downtown Guelph in 1989. In the early years she made exquisite ceramic vessels, whimsical teapots and intricate ceramic mosaics. She also made her share of pottery mugs to make ends meet, all the while dreaming of and working towards a vastly more ambitious artistic goal: she wanted to make the Kachelöfen that were at the heart of her childhood memories growing up in Germany. Jessica wanted to introduce the Kachelofen to North America. And she wanted to make Kachelöfen like no one had ever seen before.
That desire led to further study with Kachelöfen builders (hafnermeister) in Austria (2004). Jessica created her first Kachelofen in 2008, stepping into a largely male-dominated tradition and merging functionality with artistry: vibrant colour, sophisticated clean lines, poetic inscriptions and collaboration with other artists have become hallmarks of her work.
Jessica’s work has been featured in The Globe & Mail, Fusion Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, Dwell.com, Grand Magazine and Toque Magazine among others. She has been the focus of articles in Japan, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and the United States as well as Canada.