Grace Tessein is not only an accomplished sculptor, painter, student and teacher – she also really loves her dog, Sugar Jaws.
“Sugar Jaws is my dog. My first year here in grad school, I decided that it was time to find a friend,” Tessein said. “My partner and I adopted him from a rescue here in Baton Rouge.”
When Tessein and her partner, Dennis Ritter, started collaborating on ceramic pieces, they decided to name their local business after Sugar Jaws.
“We decided to keep it separate from our own artistic endeavours, so we called it Sugar Jaws Pottery,” Tessein said. “[Sugar Jaws] is our CEO and mascot and he gets paid in carrots and a new toy every once in a while.”
While their business is not “on-the-books” quite yet, Sugar Jaws Pottery has been for sale at many of the University’s pottery sales. Tessein and Ritter are starting to introduce their work to shows outside of the Baton Rouge area.
“I think once I’m done with school, we can dig a bit deeper in it and make some money off of it,” Tessein said.
Along with Sugar Jaws, Tessein is working toward her master’s degree in ceramics and teaching classes, both involving the pottery wheel and handling.
“My undergrad was at Tyler School of Art [at Temple University],” Tessein said. “I majored in ceramics and painting and then I sort of stuck with clay. I worked in art centers and museums and decided to come back to school to better my practice and be a better teacher.”
Tessein’s work with Sugar Jaws helped her to begin the conversation of functional pottery after focusing on more sculptural pieces.
“The undergrad classes are really great and our majors are awesome,” Tessein said. “The ceramics program is ranked so we get a really awesome group here. The faculty is great, as well.”
Ceramics sophomore Ashley Evans, a former student of Tessein, is a big fan of both her teacher’s pottery and sculptures.
“I had her as a T.A. and a teacher and she was great at both,” Evans said. “She was really great at knowing how each of us learned. When I first got the opportunity to see her work, I fell in love. At the time, she was creating mugs that were swallowed by beautiful floral patterns. I’m not big on flowers but she made them cool.”
Tessein said she is inspired by old-fashioned floral prints, specifically some of her grandparents’ floral bedsheets for her Sugar Jaws work. Her pieces are also the height of functional design.
“All the pottery you can eat and drink out of, you can put them in the microwave as long as there isn’t a luster on them. You can stick them in the dishwasher,” Tessein said.
As she nears the end of her graduate studies, Tessein said she still works with her true love: sculpture.
Her website, gracetessein.com, showcases both her Sugar Jaws pottery and her sculptures. Her Master of Fine Arts thesis show, “Dearest,” will take place May 1-5 in the Glassell Gallery at the Shaw Center for the Arts. 
“She has forever influenced my artwork and my technique,” Evans said.