Artist Lecture - Jason Walker

On the River, Down the Road, Solo Show, Jason Walker, Bellevue Arts Museum

       Jason Walker recently spoke at an artist lecture at University Galleries.  He has been a studio artist for the past 16 years, supporting himself by selling work that he has made. I wasn't sure what to expect with Jason, as I didn't know what medium he primarily uses for his work. I was surprised to find out that he is mainly a ceramic artist, but someone who I would also consider a phenomenal painter. In high school, he obtained a job painting signs and billboards, which is where he ultimately learned to paint. Later, he spent a summer in Japan after getting his undergraduate degree, where he learned the art of ceramics.

Low Tide, Jason Walker

       After spending time traveling and learning, he decided to get his graduate degree and focus on something that doesn't seem very common in the art world, at least to my knowledge. He wanted to make lifelike drawings and paintings that were done on 3D sculptures. His reasoning for this was because before, when studying ceramics, he only focused on patterns and designs, which is what most ceramic work looks like, but wanted to challenge himself by doing something that interested him more.

Desert Frog, Jason Walker

       Something I found very interesting that Jason brought up was the fact that throughout most of his life, everything he did revolved around an academic calendar. After finishing all of his years of schooling, he didn't know what to do with himself, but really wanted to just focus on just being an artist. This is something I have thought a lot about before, wondering where I will be with my artwork in two years when I graduate, and if I will be able to support myself solely on my ideas. For Jason it seemed as if he felt the same way for a while. He talked about visiting craft fairs often, where he would sell bowls and cups that he had made, and although it wasn’t what he really wanted to do, it was encouraging knowing that people bought his artwork.

Stopping to sniff the Flowers in My Concrete Shoes, Jason Walker

       After really getting to sell his work for a while, he realized that he wanted to start experimenting with what really interested him. The two factors that he has focused on throughout his most recent work, have sort of been two major factors in the world today, playing a primary factor in the way we live. Technology and Nature.

Manifest Destiny, Jason Walker

        His work is very personal, and a self reflection of the culture we live in. Technology has both its pros and cons when factoring into the quality of life that it brings us, while nature also is something we need to cherish and protect, yet we aren’t doing so, especially when it comes to newer technology distracting us from it’s beauty. He does an excellent job capturing real life narratives through the paintings and drawings on the sculptures.

Standing in the Grass, Jason Walker

       He enjoys using symbolism with the nature figures he sculpts. For example, fish symbolize riches and wealth, while birds represent flying to heavens, and can then be associated solely with the heavens. He uses these two figures as the main canvas for his paintings. Another symbol he uses is frogs, which show an environmental change if they start to populate or die out. Last, one of the main ones he has used is bears, because where there are bears there are no people. He likes the symbolism behind each of these animals, especially in context with the paintings he does on them.   

Split Down the Middle, But One Always Wants More, Jason Walker

       Along with animals, he likes to depict landscapes that show either nature, or big industrial cities. It shows the advancement of technology, along with the negative effects that it has on nature, which he shows by using the animal figures. His work is very ironic in the sense that each symbol or aspect contradicts another in some way. I believe this is why his work is so successful, because he uses images and ideas that are so familiar with people, but allows the work to speak for itself and let you determine what it is meaning, something positive or negative. 

Threadfin Jack (Side 1), Jason Walker

Threadfin Jack (Side 2), Jason Walker

       As you can see, many of the names that he uses for his work are those ideas or thoughts that most people have either heard, or are familiar with. He is so interested in the way we interact with the world and those ideas involving nature and technology. He says that culture created his appreciation for nature through traveling and studying the way people act in different areas. I believe that his work can teach many people to also appreciate nature and what it has done for us. We can learn from it, while also looking at amazing artwork.

Staring Into the Crystal Ball, Jason Walker