A Moment of Movement

For three summers in the 1980s, Ott Jones worked as a fishing guide at the Rainbow King Lodge in Lake Iliamna on the Alaskan Peninsula. He led fishing excursions during the days and worked on his art at night. “If I was stationed at the lodge I’d sculpt at the lodge; if I was living in the bush I’d sculpt at camp by candlelight,” he says. It was one of the last jobs he had before becoming a full-time artist.

During those three years, Jones lived in Castle Rock, Colorado, where he was under the artistic mentorship of accomplished Colorado artist, Veryl Goodnight, who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2016. “I learned the whole aspect of sculpting and the business end—marketing, doing shows,” Jones says. “And I also learned about the production side and how bronzes are produced in the foundry.”

In both Alaska and Colorado, he worked tirelessly on his art and began to get attention for his work, even before turning to art on a full-time basis…

Read the full article in the May/June 2025 issue.