Psyche Inspired: Jacquelyn Sublett

Person with curly hair and a tattoo on their arm, wearing a green top, standing outdoors

Institution: University of North Carolina at Asheville
Major: BFA in Ceramics & Physics
Psyche Inspired Class: 2025-2026

Reflections on Psyche Inspired

Reflections on Project 1: Asteroid

"Asteroid" is a ceramic spherical form made from high-fire clay and finished with a blue-bronze raku glaze. The piece is designed to evoke the surface of the asteroid Psyche, featuring a matte black exterior and a metallic, textured central area. The glaze settles primarily into the recessed areas of the texture.

Asteroid

Jacquelyn Sublett

January 20th, 2026
Major: Ceramics and Physics
Genre/Medium: Stoneware, Blue/Bronze and Forbes Midnight Blue Raku Glaze
About the work:

“Asteroid” is a ceramic spherical form made from high-fire clay and finished with a blue-bronze raku glaze. The piece is designed to evoke the surface of the asteroid Psyche, featuring a matte black exterior and a metallic, textured central area. The glaze settles primarily into the recessed areas of the texture, echoing how Psyche’s metal-rich materials may be more concentrated within its cratered surfaces.

Project Details: Asteroid

Reflections on Project 2: Meteoroid

The composition features a metallic, textured meteoroid-shaped base paired with a small vessel that appears deformed upon impact. Raku-fired with a white crackle glaze, the vessel takes on an otherworldly quality, evoking the fractured, dynamic surfaces found in extraterrestrial environments.

Meteoroid

Jacquelyn Sublett

March 23rd, 2026

Major: Ceramics & Physics

Genre/Medium: High-Fire Stoneware, White Crackle Raku Glaze

About the Work:

“Meteoroid” is a sculptural composition that visualizes the moment of impact between a ceramic vessel and a meteoroid in space. This work explores the violent history of collisions and material accumulation, processes central to planetary formation and investigated in the Psyche mission. The composition features a metallic, textured meteoroid-shaped base paired with a small vessel that appears deformed upon impact, its form altered by force and tension as it fuses into the surface. Raku-fired with a white crackle glaze, the vessel takes on an otherworldly quality, evoking the fractured, dynamic surfaces found in extraterrestrial environments.

Project Details: Meteoroid

Reflections on Project 3: Space Exploration

Amid the sea of iridescent glaze, you can find a small replica of the spacecraft and its solar panels. The Copper Cobalt Raku glaze moves organically across the vessel, producing radiant tones of copper red and orange alongside greens and blues.

Space Exploration

JACQUELYN SUBLETT

April 6th, 2026

Major: Ceramics & Physics

Genre/Medium: High-Fire Stoneware, Copper Cobalt Raku Glaze

About the Work:

“Space Exploration” depicts the Psyche spacecraft on its journey toward the asteroid, reflecting humanity’s pursuit of deeper understanding within our solar system. The mission’s findings contribute to a broader knowledge of the diversity and composition of these asteroids. Amid the sea of iridescent glaze, you can find a small replica of the spacecraft and its solar panels. The Copper Cobalt Raku glaze moves organically across the vessel, producing radiant tones of copper red and orange alongside greens and blues. This dynamic surface evokes the shifting qualities of space while highlighting the intersection of scientific discovery and material exploration.

Project Details: Space Exploration

Reflections on Project 4: Planetesimal

On the first plate, lighter grey speckles and a singular brush stroke, formed through the use of sugar and honey, represent particles continuously encountering the planetary body. On the second plate, darker grey/black circular markings, created with honey, sugar, and wood, symbolize the scattering of planetesimal material both inward and outward as a result of collision dynamics.

Planetesimal

JACQUELYN SUBLETT

Major: Ceramics & Physics

Genre/Medium: High Fire Clay Body, Raku Glaze

About the Work: 

“Planetesimal” is a pair of plates that visually interpret data reflecting planetesimal distribution. It is theorized that asteroid Psyche is the exposed metallic core of an early differentiated planetesimal that was disrupted by collisions. This project explores how Psyche offers a rare opportunity to study the internal structure of terrestrial planets. These plates are composed of a high-fire clay body and fired using Western-Style Raku. Natural materials, including honey, sugar, and wood, are incorporated to create the carbon inlay designs. On the first plate, lighter grey speckles and a singular brush stroke, formed through the use of sugar and honey, represent particles continuously encountering the planetary body. On the second plate, darker grey/black circular markings, created with honey, sugar, and wood, symbolize the scattering of planetesimal material both inward and outward as a result of collision dynamics.

Project Details: Planetesimal

The Psyche badge with no words on it.

Psyche Inspired

Learn more about the Psyche Inspired program and view other works

/

Psyche Inspired