Jerry Hill

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Jerry Hill first attempted carving small Indian masks as a child. While growing up, he built many models, each one getting more elaborate. When Jerry was fourteen, he won third place in a state-wide competition for young auto designers. In high school, he ventured into jewelry making, obtaining his first jewelry tools with the help of a Bainbridge Island jeweler.

At Shoreline Community College, Jerry studied painting and drawing with John Heard who later chaired the art department at Evergreen State College; he graduated with an associate degree in 1969. After working several years in the 60’s crafts movement, Jerry returned to school at the University of Washington, studying Northwest Native art with Bill Holm, noted artist, scholar, and author of many books about Northwest Coast Indian art.

His skills in the various techniques of carving, casting or cutting out elaborate designs have been honed by twenty-two years of study, practice and production of jewelry. Eight years ago, his area of interest expanded into sculpture while taking classes in metal sculpture, bronze, aluminum and glass casting from Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. Jerry now incorporates metals, wood, glass and optical plastics in his pieces.

Jerry has worked with Norman Courtney and Marvin Oliver in the process of casting glass, Jay Haavik doing wood-working, and many blacksmiths and coppersmiths. Norman Courtney is one of the founding members of Pilchuck and also Pratt Fine Arts Center, and was the artist who did the three-dimensional windows for the new sports complex in Eugene, OR.

Jerry has taken on many commission pieces among which he has created a story window using both sandblasted glass and pierced copper to create a three-dimensional effect that paints a picture and tells a story, and he has done the porch, entry hall and dining room lighting for a new waterfront home in Langley, WA.