Alexandria-based artist JeeEun Lee carves out a personal topography of belonging and earned top honors in Ohio’s premier fine craft exhibition with her ceramic wall sculpture.
Lee’s ”Belonging/Sense” sculpture is featured in the “Best of 2025” at the Ohio Craft Museum’s annual juried members exhibition. The “Best of 2025” showcases contemporary fine craft by 65 artists. There were 81 selected works in clay, glass, metal, wood, fiber and mixed media from nearly 400 entries. Sixteen artists received excellence awards in Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s annual members competition.
Originally from South Korea, Lee came to the United States in 2010 to join Syracuse University’s master’s program in ceramics. She also holds a master’s degree in sculpture from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. Lee was brought to Northern Kentucky in 2016 to teach ceramics at Northern Kentucky University, where she still teaches as an associate professor.
“In my work practice, I focus on finding questions about my identity and relationship with nature,” Lee said. “For me, nature is mysterious and creates me a sense of hope for the universe, or urging me to reconsider the meaning of life and to be aware of myself.”
Lee said she tries to find common denominators between human life and nature in her art practice. She uses a lot of natural imagery, especially water and mountains, which is reflected in her piece Belonging/Sense.
“I was thinking about where I belong and where my home is, and I went to create the series of mountain landscapes that established a sense of place, memories, time, and also a fleeting experience of the moments,” Lee said. “This instillation touches on various aspects of human nature, such as a sense of belonging, growth and hope and faith.”
When sculpting Belonging/Sense, Lee used two different clay bodies: white stoneware and red clay. The figure is made of white stoneware, and all of the mountains are red clay. Lee said she used mostly a hand-building process to make the figures. She then applied a combination of glazes and an oxide wash and applied image transfer for the clothing. Lee said they went through at least three firings in the kiln.
Lee’s constituent at NKU, Josh Maier, who also teaches ceramics and sculpture, said Lee’s work is “prolific.”
“She works a lot, she makes a lot,” Maier said. “Her practice as an artist is pretty solid. When she’s not making, she’s physically seeking opportunities that she can either be working toward, opportunities to display her work, opportunities for her personal professional development, or professional exposure for classes here at NKU.”
Maier said obstacles often arise when using clay that has nothing to do with artistry.
“The first thing everybody in the world needs to understand about clay is that it is a bastard,” Maier said.
He said the materials could be affected by humidity in the air, which can slow down progress. If it’s warm, it will speed up drying time. Industry changes, like materials no longer being mined or the price per pound rising, can also affect their work.
Lee created Belonging/Sense during her two-week vacation, spending 10 hours a day working on it. She said creating figures, especially if it has hands and feet, can take at least six hours to make one hand.
“It’s a material that you can’t take home and work at your personal studio,” Maier said. “You have to have equipment that is off-site. Even if it’s like going into the studio just to uncover work for a couple of hours, to help it dry out, but maintain a slow pace for it, it’s a true commitment. So, she’s [Lee] got a really good mastery of that.”
Aside from her work being featured in the “Best of 2025,” Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s 42nd annual juried members exhibition at the Ohio Craft Museum, Belonging/Sense received the $2,000 Challenge Award for Excellence. Her work will be on display from May 4 through July 5.
“That is a huge honor for me, getting that recognition in this area,” Lee said. “I hope that is a starting point. I can, you know, expand out more of my work in that area, too.”
As for the $2,000 award she received, Lee said any money would help her create more because all the starting materials and equipment are getting more expensive. Lee said travel can also add up when going to these exhibitions.
Maier, who is working toward a solo show for his work, received a $5,000 individual artist award through a local summer fair organization. He said those types of awards allow artists to keep being makers, especially those who dedicate so much time to teaching new artists.
“An artist has a deep-seated need to be a maker, but when you also take on education, it kind of hacks into that,” Maier said. “These kinds of awards, these kinds of grants and make it sustainable for professional artists to continue to make their work, especially when they are engaged in, you know, 30 hours a week trying to help somebody else make their work.”
