Jessie Blackmer spent her childhood in rural Maine, an experience which heavily influences her work. She graduated with honors from Massachusetts College of Art in 2004 with a BFA in Glass. Shortly after earning her degree she moved to Washington State and worked for several well known and talented artists while refining her own technique and developing her own artistic practice. She has been a volunteer, staff and student at Pilchuck Glass School, and worked as a studio coordinator and an instructor Pratt Fine Arts center in Seattle. During her time at Pratt that she received the 2008 Jon and Mary Shirley Scholarship. In 2011 Jessie Blackmer received her MFA from The Ohio State University where she taught kiln forming, coldworking, flameworking, and glassblowing. She was recently featured in the GAS Newsletter and is currently section hiking the Appalachian Trail.