Melissa Zook makes pieces that are authentic to her; using visual and haptic (tactile) languages. She wants the viewer to see her work and be drawn in and engage, having a tactile experience with object.

The creative process involves Melissa exploring, being surprised, and learning from the materials; suspending the artist in a continual evolution of thought and creation. The hand of the artist is seen in each piece, the flaws and imperfections in the process contribute in making each piece unique. She works in porcelain and stoneware, primarily thrown on a pottery wheel and altered, and more recently hand built. The objects are form focused with a modern aesthetic. The tactile surfaces are more organic; created using various techniques to apply, take away, and otherwise interrupt the surface of the object. She enjoys the juxtaposition of the organic mark making with the minimal and modern forms. Many of her glazes she has developed and made herself to enhance her vision.

Melissa grew up on her family farm in Chester County, PA, where she learned at an early age to use her imagination, her hands, and grit. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA, and Pratt Institute with an MID.  When she moved from Brooklyn, back to the Philadelphia area in 2018, she took a ceramics course in hopes of expanding her jewelry line with a new material, clay. The very last class of the session she decided to try the pottery wheel….and so began the love affair.