Red Lodge Clay Center – Long-Term Resident 2019 – 2021, Short-Term Resident 2016, (ASPN) 2017
Jared, affectionately known as J-Dog was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia. There, he attended West Virginia University for his undergraduate education and received degrees in both English and Ceramics. Recently, Jared received his MFA from Arizona State University. In his personal life, Jared loves to play outside. When not in the studio, you can find him fly fishing a river or hiking in the National Forest. His work has been exhibited both internationally and nationally.
Primarily working in ceramics, his work explores intersections between labor, sports, and religion. He is especially interested in the power these institutions have in creating unique spaces of communion, brotherhood, and personal expression while also leveraging hope for their growth and expansion. He currently lives in Tacoma, Washington where he teaches ceramics at Tacoma Community College.
I am a sculptor and installation artist working primarily in ceramics. My work explores the intersections of hope, fear, and communal ritual within systems such as sports, labor, and organized religion. I examine how these institutions shape personal and collective identities, often leveraging belief to sustain social, political, and economic power. At the same time, I am drawn to their ability to foster spaces of communion and personal expression through shared experience and ritual. Transcendental experiences like hope and love, often towards a team, group of friends, or a tradition mark key moments in my research.
Informed by my upbringing in Appalachia and my own experiences with physical labor and injury, I investigate the construction and instability of masculinity—particularly identities rooted in physical ability, endurance, and work traditions. As these structures shift or erode, I consider the cultural and emotional consequences of their absence, as well as the ways vulnerability, sensitivity, and connection persist within and beyond them. I am also interested in spaces and modalities where people gather to reshape these identities, both historically and contemporarily.
Through installation and sculpture, I use materials and forms that complicate hierarchies and relationships between refinement with utility, fragility with strength, and reverence with critique. By drawing parallels between institutions like sports and religion, my work blurs the boundaries of what constitutes a sacred or communal space. Ultimately, I aim to reflect on the human need for connection and belief, while questioning how these desires are shaped, sustained, and often exploited.