Tom Jay was born in Manhattan, Kansas in 1943. His father's military and corporate careers necessitated frequent transfers; Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Utah, Idaho, Nevada and California. After dropping out of college in the mid sixties he wandered the world for a couple of years; stowing away on a cruise ship to Europe; working in an Icelandic cement factory and on a Danish farm. Upon his return he discovered his life's calling as a bronze caster- sculptor. He came to Washington State to finish his education and graduated from Seattle University with a BA and an MFA from the University of Washington. He moved to Chimacum in 1969 and built and operated Riverdog Fine Arts Foundry until 1995. For the last 25 years he has worked with his wife Sara Mall Johani and co-operated with other volunteers to engage the community imagination in place-based culture through art, festivals and educational adventures.
