Bio

Joanna Bloom was born in Lyme, CT. She holds a MA in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA from Connecticut College, New London, CT. Inspired by her work with children in Connecticut, New York and New Mexico, as well as her time traveling to the craft villages of Oaxaca, Mexico and her years living in the American Southwest, Bloom eventually found her way to Portland, Oregon, to pursue her interest in ceramic arts. Together with her husband Thomas Orr, the next 25 years were spent growing a family and studio practice. In 2012, Bloom and Orr founded The Ash Street Project, a clay-based mentorship program for emerging artists. With no formal degree in art, this experimental project, and the rich culture of cross pollination it provided, was extremely formative for Bloom. In 2022 Bloom and her family moved to Lopez Island, off of Washington state, where they share a studio and tend a small farm.

Bloom’s work has been exhibited at Adams and Ollman Gallery, Portland, OR; Russo Lee Gallery, Portland, OR; the San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA; Kellogg University Art Gallery, Cal Poly, Pomona, CA; Hoffman Gallery, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland, OR; and the New Orleans Center for Contemporary Art, New Orleans, LA, among others. Bloom’s work is included in the collections of the Portland Art Museum, The Lumber Room, The Center for Contemporary Art and Culture, Pacific Northwest College of Art, all in Portland, OR, the Beth Rudin DeWoody collection in Miami, Florida, as well as a number of other private collections.