C.V.

EDUCATION

2019    Cranbrook Academy of Art • MFA Fibers 2019
2015    College of the Redwoods • fine woodworking • two year certificate
2014    Capellagården • Vickleby, Sweden • student exchange, woodworking and textiles
2006    Smith College • Bachelor of Arts with high honors • Major: architecture


AWARDS
2021   Pratt Faculty Development Grant - Digital Knitting for Interdisciplinary Collaboration
2019    Cranbrook Academy of Art Director’s Award
2018    Larson Award for Rävemåla Residency
2018    Stewart Thompson Haystack Fellowship for “Push, Pull, Play” workshop with Katie Hudnall
2015    AWFS Fresh Wood Competition - 2nd place in Chairs
2014    Architectural Woodworking Institute Education Foundation Scholarship
2014    Susan Detjens Memorial Foundation Scholarship


GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022    Center for Art in Wood, ITE Residency Show, Philadelphia, PA
2019    Bridging the Gap: Contemporary Craft Practices, Arrowmont Gallery, Gatlinburg, TN
2019    Material Object Belief, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2019    Thesis Show, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2019    Kindred Neighbors: An Inhabitation of Cranbrook House, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2018    Summer Show, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2018    Chair Show, 1301 Broadway, Detroit, MI
2016    Appalachian State University 9th Annual Chair Competition - Finalist
2015    handmade/mindmade exhibition, San Francisco, CA
2015    Highlights gallery exhibition, Mendocino, CA
2014    handmade/mindmade exhibition, San Francisco, CA
2014    Highlights gallery exhibition, Mendocino, CA


RESIDENCIES & COMPETITIONS


2022    Windgate ITE • Philadelphia, PA
Future residency at the Center for Art in Wood and University of the Arts.
2019    Design Center in a Box • Detroit, Michigan
As part of a small team of designers, was selected for the transformation of a vacant storefront to be used by the Detroit City Planning for community engagement, exhibitions and pop-up retail. Designed and pre-fabricated all architectural, lighting and furniture pieces in-house using CNC machine and woodshop. Installation slated for fall 2020.
2018    Rävemåla Artist Residency • Ålem, Sweden
With collaborator Christi Byrd, created site specific sculptures to reintegrate human senses with the rural landscape through heightening/altering the physical senses.
2018    Haystack Open Studios Residency • Deer Isle, Maine
Conducted investigations into merging digital and hand crafting techniques, explored utilizing textiles processes on wood.

2016    Make your Future residency at Staten Island Maker Space • Staten Island, NY
Prototyped furniture pieces and produced commissioned work, taught woodworking classes.


WORK









current    Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Maker Technical Specialist
Management of two makerspaces, coordinates 60 student mentors, material and tool maintenance and creates training curriculum for workshops on fabrication techniques including, laser cutting and 3d printing, woodworking, sewing, weaving, and resin casting. Runs MakerLodge - a first year training program designed to introduce students to makerspace tools and technologies. Teaches Intro to Making, a 6 credit course for MBA students to gain a hands-on understanding of the product design process, from ideation to physical prototyping.

2019-2021    Pratt Institute School of Design • Visiting Instructor Industrial Design
Taught project based fabrication technique to ID students. Topics include: woodshop machine use and wood milling, joinery, plastic bending, welding and vacuum forming, resin casting, manual mill operation, wood lathe, and hand carving. 

2019-2021    Pratt Institute School of Design • Digital Fabrication Lab Manager
Managed digital fabrication labs including: hiring, training and overseeing 20-30 work study students and graduate assistants, ensuring safe and successful operation of four 3-axis CNC machines, several 3D Prusa printers, six Universal laser cutters and three Shima Seiki digital knitting machines as well as traditional wood and metal shop machines. Maintaining, upgrading and training students, staff and faculty on use of digital and analog fabrication machines and relevant software. Coordinating service technicians, electrical and maintenance contracts with internal facilities personnel and external contractors. Organizing a fully digital submission system for CNC, Laser and Digital Knitting projects where students, both on campus and remote could submit projects for production.
2017-2019    Cranbrook Academy of Art • Shop technician and CNC operator
Assisted students with fabrication techniques, both analog and digital. Piloted and organized student taught fabrication workshop series. Taught introductory woodworking and joinery workshops.
2017-2019    Cranbrook Museum of Art • Exhibitor assistant
Assisted lead exhibitionist in museum show installation and deinstallation. Built and demolished gallery walls, handled artwork and fabricated fixtures for exhibitions.
2010-ongoing    Jess Osserman Designs
One woman design/build practice producing custom wooden furniture, public art installations, outdoor seating and tiny homes.
2016-2017    Makeville • Shop Monitor & Woodworking Instructor
Taught courses: Intro to woodworking, Woodworking for women, splined mitered boxes and hand-cut dovetails. Maintained shop and machine equipment, organizing tools and assuring student/member safety during regular shop hours.
2009-2012, 2016    Hester Street Collaborative • Program Associate and Teaching Artist
Imagined and developed curriculum, designed and executed public art, urban gardening and design/build projects. Education projects resulted from a collaborative process between volunteers, staff, myself and 20 - 100 elementary or middle school students. Assessed design education projects based on school and organization goals, educational links, funding requirements, time and cost metrics.
Projects include: creating and installing solar powered lanterns in a public park to celebrate the lunar new year, painting a 90 foot long mural depicting Chinatown, creating 400 mosaics to line planters in a public park, silk-screening plant identification signs, creating a hand felted, KoolAid dyed textile installation representing native trees, constructing cedar bird houses for native birds with hand tools and creating stop motion animated films depicting the life cycle of edible plants.
2011-2012    Yestermorrow Design/Build School • Design/Build Intern
Coordinated with instructors, prepared workshops for rotating courses, sourced materials. Created traveling exhibition. Organized staff/intern/student community building events. Completed courses: Willow ribbed canoe, treehouse design/build, timberframing, reclaimed furniture design/build, green ladder-back chairs, fundamentals of design, math for builders, box making, and concrete countertops.
2011    Center for Urban Pedagogy - $ Breakdown • Assistant Teaching Artist
Collaborating with artist Douglas Paulson and 12 high school students from South Brooklyn, created stop motion films exploring money, banks and the perils of being unbanked.
2006-2008    Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects • Junior Designer
Drafted AutoCAD documents, rendered sections and plans for public park projects, greenroofs and institutional clients. Conducted research, designed and produced diagrams for sustainability guidelines for New York City Department of Design and Construction. Built site models, presentation boards and created RFP packages.
2006    studio a/b, art sites  •  Intern
Renovated building for art sites, an art gallery and architecture office for studio a/b (Hideaki Ariizumi and Glynis Berry, principals). Constructed stairs, deck and building facade, installed drop roof ceiling, painted interior walls, designed signage and installed exhibitions.

GUEST CRITIQUES

2021    Pratt Institute - Interior Design.  Sites of Learning: The New Public High School Library
Professor Keenah Suh

2021    Pratt Institute - Industrial Design - CNC Furniture Prototypes
Professor Karol Murlak

2020    University of the Arts - Philadelphia - Product Design
Program Director Hsin C Wang

2019    Pratt Institute - Interior Design - Junior Studio
Professor Keenah Suh


FUN

2010    farmcycle: a journey across Europe Co-authored, researched, designed and produced a guidebook and travel journal on bicycle touring and farming in Europe. Along with two friends, traveled from Spain to Sweden by bicycle, visiting and working on farms while documenting our journey. The project was funded through kickstarter where we pre-sold 75 copies of our book, as well as printed t-shirts, home-made cheeses and dinner parties. A stop motion video of ourselves riding our bikes through an ever changing landscape created entirely of common vegetables introduced the project and inspired the journey.