Ken Jonas – A Physician turned Sculptor

Ken Jonas, Contemporary Sculptor

Art speaks to the individual on an intimate, personal level.

The object may mean something to you and yet say something completely different for another viewer. It’s the subjective nature of creativity itself – it means that an individual’s reaction to something is based on and influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

Ken Jonas was fully immersed in a medical career before he discovered his affinity for stone carving.

Born in Seattle, WA, Ken spent his youth exploring the expansive mountains and waterways of the Pacific Northwest.  He developed avid interests in outdoor recreation and wilderness adventure, and a deep appreciation for wildlife and conservation.

These lifelong interests influence his art today. Three Kings - Ken Jonas Contemporary Sculptor

Ken left medicine in 2014 to commit to the full-time pursuit of sculpting.

His work continues to be inspired by his love of nature, fly fishing and time spent in the mountains, as well as by a medical career which spanned over twenty years.

Mother & Child

One of the things I wanted Ken to do for his website was blog. His reaction said it all – um, hell no.

Blogging is for writers, he said. I answered that blogging is just another word for storytelling. Do any of your sculptures have stories behind them, I asked?

It turns out that they all do.

The transformative challenge of taking a cold, hard, inanimate object and giving it life with personality, warmth and a softness that compels people to reach out and touch it always starts with a narrative in mind.

Mother & Child is my favorite of Ken’s work – and I’ve only viewed this sculpture from this photograph. But the story of this work still makes me cry.

Mother-&-Child- Ken Jonas Sculptor

This was my first commission, and one with tremendous sentimental value.

It is a piece for which I am proud to share credit with the late Kirk W. Wilson (March 12, 1966 – June 23, 2009).  Kirk was a young, accomplished architect with multiple talents who tragically lost his life to brain cancer at the age of 43.

He had designed and initiated work on this Mother and Child piece before he passed away, but was unable to complete it.  His mother, Beverly, who was the intended recipient of this gift, approached me one day with Kirk’s work still in rough form and asked if I would be willing to complete her son’s vision.

What an honor to be entrusted with this precious gift!

Using a small clay model he had left behind, I let intuition and Kirk’s spirit guide my hands as I worked.  My wife and I were students at Pilchuck Glass School around that same time which provided me with an opportunity to cut, carve and polish the swaddled infant from a block of cast glass.  

I thought clear glass would be a compelling choice, not only for its aesthetic value, but as a metaphor for Beverly and Dick Wilson as well, reflecting this transparent soul who still occupied space in their hearts. – Ken Jonas


Ken Jonas has a lot of stories to share in his sculptures.

I am honored to help share his passion with others who can visually enjoy their own experience through his work.

Check out more of Ken’s beautiful work at KenJonas.com

{Special thank you to photographer, Trevon Baker for the beautiful photography}