About the Artist: Jenna Vannest

Growing up in New Hampshire, my parents encouraged me to be creative and express myself artistically. Starting to crochet, sew and knit by 8, I had an urge to learn every craft I could. At 12 years old, I took my first ceramics class. That year of my life was muddy and very important to my artistic development. My family could no longer afford pottery classes after that. It wasn’t until 2017 I touched clay again. Those classes I took as an adult felt like returning to something familiar. The grounding comfort of sitting in one place after years of traveling and wandering without a rooted home was just what my weary soul needed. In 2018, as if out of nowhere, I started sculpting mushrooms in clay and experimenting with fungi designs on my pots. That was it! I was addicted and couldn’t stop making mushrooms! Later that year, I sold my mushroom pottery at my first ever mushroom festival in Brookings, Oregon. After an amazing weekend, I knew I’d found my people and my niche. The rest is history!
Today, you can find my pottery at local art markets in and around Eugene, Oregon including: The Oregon Country Fair, Sunriver Fungi Fest, Wild Rivers Mushroom Festival, Mount Pisgah Mushroom Festival, Yachats Mushroom Festival, Folk & Forage, Eugene Saturday Market, Whiteaker Community Market and more!