Who is JBONE?

about the artist

Jay Sawyer doesn’t suffer fools, which makes him an anomaly in the world of contemporary art.  It also makes his new sculpture, “f-Bomb,” entirely within his character.  It’s a bold introduction to an artist whose work is rooted in industry and enterprise and defined by craftsmanship and artistic vision.  Sawyer, a sculptor from Warren, Maine, has been making nearly all his life, but he’s defined himself as an artist for a little over a decade.

He took an unlikely path to art, but it’s been a logical progression of his skills and talents, and how he chooses to apply them.  A native Mainer, Sawyer trained as a merchant mariner, graduating from the Maine Maritime Academy in 1983 with a degree in Marine Engineering.  After his career on the sea, he supported himself as a welder, salvaging iron, steel and other heavy metals.  As he tore something apart, using his torch, brawn and innate smarts, there was a constant train of thought towards repurposing these raw materials creatively.  The idea of creating art had teased Sawyer for years, but, it really clicked with him when he crossed paths with an artist and Renaissance man and fellow Mainer, David McLaughlin.  McLaughlin wasn’t a traditional artist.

Sawyer shared McLaughlin’s respect for materials and the idea of repurposing them, and a close friendship began.  With the influence of McLaughlin and two other artists that soon became long time mentors, Sawyer boldly claimed, “Give me ten years and, with your help, I will be known in the world of Maine art."  At his debut exhibition in 2007, he showed 34 sculptures – 6 tons of work – and sold half the pieces.  His art career was born.  These strategies continued with Sawyer as his art moniker JBONE was becoming familiar around Maine.  Being drawn to the spherical form, JBONE has worked for several years with different processes for creating spheres and their enhancements for display.  Abstract works are plentiful as his wide selection of raw materials leads to many different expressions.

He shows several dozen on a rotating basis at his home and creative environment known as Studio JBONE, in Midcoast Maine, and has placed several pieces in public art collections around the state and beyond, including a large piece at the Portland International Jetport and another piece on the Rockland Harbor Trail in the city where he was born.

He’s exhibited in galleries and museums around Maine, and is a regular participant in community art walks, where he can be seen pushing one of his large spheres……hence - Walking his Art.

His latest series, Sculpture Soup, his signature expression of attitude and wit; signals his move into Pop Art. The inspiration for the series was a sculpture he created to honor the spirit of the raw material he was fortunate enough to have salvaged during the demolition of The Georges River Woolen Mill, in his home town.  This material had formerly been the penstock, straining and funneling water to the water wheel to power the town’s economic engine in days gone by.  JBONE’s intent to honor the rich texture of the raw material took on even more meaning as the work was in progress. It became obvious that the sculpture would also pay tribute to the penstock and it’s role in providing life experience to countless teens growing up in the quiet community. A sculpture titled Iron e would not only celebrate the raw beauty in the material, but, also recognize the irony of this particular raw material becoming fine art. You may also find some irony in that one of the very teens experiencing life in that derelict penstock turns out to be the artist that created the sculpture.

The totality of all this represented led him to have an amazing appreciation for the sculpture. Response from those that viewed the sculpture was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Many recommended that JBONE create a sculpture for each letter in the alphabet. Often this suggestion came from those not aware of the history of the raw material. It quickly seemed that a series of letters created with this concept would surely be welcome. Within about three months JBONE took on that challenge. Being aware of the power of the extra dimension to what Iron e represented, JBONE was constantly trying to create sculptures that delivered many facets of intellect and humor that was likely to trigger others to want to be curious as to the meaning of a word or to express themselves in their own unique way, too.

The Sculpture Soup series proved to be a great opportunity to introduce a wider range of studio processes resulting in a variety of sculptures created with lighter materials and more colorful than earlier works. In many cases, these qualities would result in an expression of Pop Art, which; when combined with wordplay, leads to a series of works that functions well as an instructional vehicle.