“Sea of Blue Shelf,” 2025, scrap wood, house paint, wood dye, found Shaker peg, 25 x 22 x 8 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Teaching Artist Cohort
2025
Lesley Jackson is an artist and teacher living in Chicago. She makes functional objects with subtle, poetic tendencies. Her work incorporates a wide range of materials and processes, focused on, but not limited to, the wood and metal crafts. What she makes changes often, depending on the materials and amount of free time available to her. Her practice is an ongoing process of concocting various whimsical solutions to the problem of ‘stuff.’ Some of her favorite places to source materials are the five-dollar shelf at an antique store in Kentucky, the scrap bin at a local commercial woodshop, and the base of any wind-worn tree after a storm.
Lesley teaches classes out of her own studio through a project she founded in 2023 called the Little Craft School with woodworker Daniel Rosa. The workshops are designed around objects and motifs from the history of folk art, but with many experimental twists. The Little Craft School operates on the principle that anyone can design themselves a charming piece of furniture if given some basic training on the relevant tools, a bit of time, and a few creative rules to follow. Projects embrace humble methods of construction, eclectic design sensibility, and hand-painted finishes.
Selected works
“A Place for One’s Keys,” 2022, steel, douglas fir, ribbon, stone, mirror, found candlestick holder, 22 x 28 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Sea of Blue Shelf,” 2025, scrap wood, house paint, wood dye, found Shaker peg, 25 x 22 x 8 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Big Cedar Flower Vase,” 2024, wood from an old cedar bench, house paint, glass vase, 12 x 12 x 16 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Fuzzy Yellow Fabric Stool,” 2022, steel, enamel, upholstery foam, found scrap of fabric from an antique mall in Michigan, 36 x 18 x 14 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Mermaid Green Scrap Shelf,” 2024, scrap oak, ash, and walnut with plywood back, wood dye, 36 x 40 x 9 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“A Place for Something Red,” 2021, steel, enamel, ruby, found green pot, 18 x 10 x 22 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.
67 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 785-1357 | info@centerforcraft.org
Gallery Hours: Tues–Sat, 10–6 get more info
Gallery Hours: Closed — Reopening Fall 2019
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