Janissen Ceramics

LeeAnn Janissen was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. She studied particle physics at universities and laboratories across Canada and at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, completing her Ph.D. in 1993. After graduating, she left academia to work in the capital markets, developing exotic derivatives in Toronto and London, England.

LeeAnn first encountered ceramics as a maker in the late 1990s, taking an evening pottery class. She continued to make and study ceramics in the evenings at various schools and studios in Toronto and London while pursuing her finance career.

In 2009, after leaving the financial sector, LeeAnn began working in ceramics full time. She honed her knowledge and skills in the ceramics department of the Craft and Design program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, where she received the Joan Bennett Award in 2011 and the William and Mary Corcoran Craft Award in 2012. Since graduating from Sheridan, LeeAnn has exhibited locally and internationally. She was a finalist in the 2013 NICHE Awards and received an Award of Merit at the FUSION Fireworks 2013 Exhibition.