Zena Verda Pesta is currently working as an instructor and shop tech at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Garfield Heights, Ohio, She lived most of her youth in the bluegrass state of Kentucky. Zena earned her B.F.A. (Ceramics) from the Cleveland Institute of Art
in 2008. Her childhood activities of twirling baton (13 years) and porcelain doll collecting
(150 dolls in the collection) have gravely influenced the content and her love of sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. Her latest creation consisted of fabricating 1,000 vessels for a large-scale out door installation, which was exhibited at Socrates Sculpture Park in
Long Island City.

My mother had a spray-painted gold brick, which held open the door to the apartment I lived in as a child. This illusion of luxury served more than one function for her. As she would continue her daily tasks, the brick would twinkle some significance every time she entered or exited. I am investigating the transformational aspects of the gold brick. Pondering its peculiarity, many questions arise in my mind about the functions of this object. Between the function of decoration and false luxury, my pieces are inspired by high brow, low brow, and no-brow. Using small collections of objects such as; jars, plates, pitchers, bags, bricks, etc. and pairing with plastic rhinestone jewels, spray paint, fish gravel, sculpey, and faux flowers,
I utilize the connotations associated with their ornamentation to alter perceptions one might hold to a particular object. I do not intend to fool anyone into believing these pieces carry a monetary value; however, I wish the viewer to acknowledge them as inherently precious. These works fall somewhere between a pet rock and disco.