BY JULIE BALDOCK for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 11/13/26
Jerome Mehrman is your local pot dealer, by which I mean he is a working ceramicist slinging his wares at Spun, his community studio and place of business, as well as at pop-ups and cafes around Tacoma.
You can find his handmade mugs at Beware Coffee, an amazing dine-in option that adds charm to their delicious drinks. His work is organic and interesting, full of texture and color, and has a unique look to it, making it stand out as something really special that you immediately want to become a treasured heirloom.
Once you are familiar with his work, which goes by the business name of Jam Pottery, you can recognize his pieces from across the room. This is not your basic pottery; he is transcending the form. I had the pleasure and opportunity to sit down with him recently and ask about his background in art, how being a ceramicist has improved his life, and the advice he would give to anyone just starting out on their own artistic journey.
Mehrman got his start in the art field early, doing an apprenticeship during high school in his hometown of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, before enrolling in a ceramics BFA program at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, where he perfected his craft.
“I’ve always been in tune with mud and sculpture,” he said, citing his early years of fort-building as the beginning impetus to his interest in building things. Like many ceramicists, he began with handbuilding, and didn’t throw on the wheel until his first year of college.
Now, years later, he is coming into his own style with confidence and creativity.
“I am loving exploring color right now in ceramics. Now that I am exploring throwing, I would like to expand my shapes and profiles,” he said.
When asked what he has been working on lately, he elaborated: “I am focusing on smaller, more collectible things. I have, in the past, done incohesive bodies of work with no consistent throughline making them a set, but lately I’ve had a lot of commissions. The repetitiveness of it allows me to fully explore that process and draw in the efficiency. Making multiples of the same form makes you more present with your piece when you’re interacting with your clay.”
He cites local artists Kendall Aura and Craig Richmond as inspirations, and said that he is looking forward to seeing their work and more at Arts at the Armory, the weekend-long art show and market held Nov. 14-15 at the Tacoma Armory, which is a huge part of Tacoma Arts Month.
It is here, at Arts at the Armory, where 120 artists, all of whom create their work in Tacoma proper (sorry Fircrest, University Place, Lakewood, and Spanaway) and come together to sell their one-of-a-kind work to the community. It’s also an opportunity to meet other artists and learn about mediums and materials they may not be familiar with. This is an event that many artists and art lovers look forward to all year, and Mehrman counts himself among those.
While Mehrman was technically one of the artists included last year, he came down with a cold the day of the event and had to miss the actual show. A friend helped move his booth and make his sales, but he was unable to be part of the festivities. He said he is so excited for another shot at it this year.
“I’m looking forward to actually being there this year! Last year, my work was shown, but I was sick. I wanted to meet all the people in the community, and Arts at the Armory is such a great platform. Artists are fun. They are the fun ones. I have always been drawn to the artists,” he added.
The community of artists is important to the growth and maturation of Jam Pottery, and all the artists included in the show feel very grateful to have been selected to share their work.
As an employee at Spun, Mehrman can be found teaching a variety of classes from “sit and spins,” where you learn the basics of wheel throwing, to more elaborate group lessons on specific shapes or techniques like sgraffito or slab-building. I asked him what advice he would give to anyone wanting to begin their own journey into ceramics: “Be patient with yourself. Celebrate every win. You’re going to be confused and discombobulated a lot of the time. Go with it.”
Ceramics is a medium that involves a lot of trial by error. And all ceramicists can tell you that the unfortunate reality is that sometimes things just don’t make it. They may crack during drying, burst open in the kiln, or even make it safely all the way through until they fall off a table and shatter.
To love ceramics is to accept the transient and imperfect nature of the world. Show your love for all that hard work and dedication by seeing Jam Pottery and so much more at Arts at the Armory.
