Jack Daws

Jack Daws addresses a range of socio-political issues in overt ways. However, he does not create in order to get a reaction. Jack’s work is intended to be a meditation, an invitation to a line of questioning and not a conclusion. His work has been exhibited at the Greg Kucera Gallery, King County Art Gallery, and Commencement Art Gallery. Jack’s work is found in the collections of the Henry Art Gallery, Tacoma Art Museum, and Western Bridge. In 2013 he was a finalist for the Neddy at Cornish Awards.

As part of his Fellowship’s Meet the Artist requirements, Jack visited John Feodorov’s Mixed Media and Art and Popular Culture classes at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College. He showed images of his recent work and his video Bicycle Thief, followed by a discussion. Jack reports, “The response from both classes was great. I couldn’t believe how refreshing it was to be in the presence of people who still have hope and enthusiasm. It was actually quite stunning, a real pleasure. It made me think I could enjoy being a teacher, which is something I have never considered.” They discussed whether artists have permission to work with whatever cultural codes they wish, or are some things off-limits. When asked, Jack advised them: “Make work you believe in, work that’s important to you… Everyone’s not going to like it, no matter what you do, so make the work you want to see. Do that and you’ll find that both criticism and praise become completely irrelevant.” He concluded, “I had more fun with the presentations than I ever would have imagined.”