A native of Columbus, Ohio, Jonathan Mess studied art at the University of Toledo and received a BFA in studio art at the University of Monatana. In 1999, Jonathan moved to the western foothills of Maine where he taught art courses at Leavitt Area High School. In 2004, he was commissioned to create a major installation at the Bates Mill Complex for the Governor's Conference on the Creative Economy. Jonathan is now an MFA student in Ceramics at SUNY New Paltz. "I digest life through the layers in my art. Materials intertwine, creating new relationships and a reinvented context. Layers of ceramic forms and found objects challenge the viewer to look past the surface to see what may be hidden within."