Daily Inspiration: Meet Matt Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Jones. 

Hi Matt, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was fairly young when I found my interest in pursuing the arts. It really all began in high school when I began taking darkroom photography classes in my hometown of Conifer, Colorado. Looking back- that was quite a privilege to have. When I got to college, I was, as I think most kids are at that point, utterly overwhelmed with the many avenues one could pursue for their life. I abandoned my pursuit of photography as the field was by and large, shifting to digital mediums which did not interest me. Instead, I began taking an interest in Geology- fascinated by the chemistry and processes of such a mundane material. Although it, unfortunately, left my creative tendencies yearning for something more expressive and hands-on.

I ended up taking a ceramics class because, at least in my mind, it was ticking the necessary boxes for me: creative, process/science-based, and it incorporated many aspects of science, but in new contexts. It was indeed the perfect fit. From there, I got my degree from Colorado State University in Fort Collins focusing on Ceramics, K-12 Arts Education, and a minor in Arts Administration.

After leaving the university, I spent the next four years teaching art in the public school arena for grades 7-12 which was both rewarding and also extremely draining. After a lot of deliberation, I decided to pursue my ceramics career full time which led me to a residency program in Saint Helena, California for just under a year, and then back to Colorado where I joined a community studio in Arvada called the Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild. The guild was a fantastic experience to be able to work independently but within a communal setting of other working artists. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Coronavirus, my work did indeed slow down due to the lack of demand and options to show my work to the public.

The pandemic did however allow me the time to hunker down and put together a portfolio in which to use for Graduate Programs! Accepting that the world would not be the same on the other side, I felt it pertinent to ensure I was working toward something that would challenge me, connect me, and hopefully propel me into the next phase of my artistic career.

In May of 2020, I was admitted into the graduate ceramics program at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge where I now reside and am making work.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I am not sure if any artist’s journey could be described as “smooth.” My journey certainly has been a very bumpy road in terms of establishing myself as first, an educator, while simultaneously building a professional arts practice. Feeling passionate about both endeavors but always compromising on where I was able to dedicate the most effort. Time has never been a real luxury and it probably never will be.

When I left my career in education, I thought things would be “smoothing out” as I headed west for a residency and internship in California. A private arts studio in the hills of the Napa Valley, tucked within a pristine forest on a historic property. By all accounts, it seemed like a dream scenario. Unfortunately, this was too good to be true. The director and my boss proved to be less than desirable to work with so I left and returned back to Colorado.

While back in Colorado I got myself set up at the Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild where I was able to productively make work and conduct my business for all of maybe 6 months before the world was brought to a halt from Covid-19.

Needless to say, the challenges of the last few years of my career have been trying but somehow, I am able to find myself progressing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in crafting both sculptural and functional ceramic works. I strive to create works that incorporate aspects of nature, landscape, process, and place that ultimately are fit for domestic settings: our homes. Much of my work features many textures and surfaces that resemble what one may find just outside their homes- gritty stone, cracked mud, flecked paint, etc. These textures may find themselves upon wall hangings, vases, cups, bowls, plates, and jars; again, objects that one might incorporate into their respective home settings. After spending much of the last year, I find that the objects we surround ourselves with play a critical role in defining our sense of self, autonomy, and largely define how we interact with the space we occupy. I enjoy this idea of crafting objects that essentially can bring elements of the outside, indoors.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My best advice for anyone beginning in ceramics or the arts, in general, is to simply “learn how to see.” The world is a fantastic and bizarre place and I think it is easy to box yourself into areas that are defined for us, opposed to continually asking questions about what is, what is not, and why. I would also advise that one simply gets to work- work on multiple things at once and bounce between them. Thoughts and ideas are great but it takes a great deal of invested time to make anything come to fruition.

Contact Info:

• Email: jonesceramicart@gmail.com
• Website: jonesceramicart.com
• Instagram: @jones_ceramics