Jason Fong
Staff Maker Monday
About the Artist
Name: Jason Fong
Medium(s): Clay
SCAA member since :2006
Creating art since: Childhood
Based in: Peace Dale, RI
Instagram: @jasonleefong
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Where are you from, and what do you make?
I was born in Wisconsin but consider myself to be from Michigan where I lived from the 2nd grade until I moved to Rhode Island after college. I create ceramic sculpture and pottery.
How long have you been seriously pursuing art?
I think I was interested in art at a pretty early age. I seriously began working in clay at the University of Michigan where I earned a BFA in ceramics and printmaking.
What inspires you to create?
The act of creation is an ongoing process. With each piece I am building off of every piece that has come before. I think the compulsion to create comes from a desire to keep improving, keep evolving, keep pushing the work farther, keep trying to get better and to see where it will go.
Which artist outside of your chosen medium has had the most impact on your art? What do they do and in what way do they influence you?
I don’t know that I can identify a single artist that has influenced my work the most. I’ve always loved the illustrative work of naturalists such as Ernst Haeckel that merged science and art in such a fascinating way.
Is there a work of art that has changed your life or how you view the world in some way?
There is a place in Wisconsin called the House On the Rock. I must have been around six years old the first time I saw it.
As a member of SCAA, what do you like most about us?
It's all about the people. Whether I'm working in the office, taking in artwork, setting up a show, working the Holiday Sale, teaching a pottery class, hanging out all day at the wood kiln, or doing any of the other things that I do there, the thing that makes it most rewarding is spending time with the people and community that is the SCAA.