Jonah Simmons is a ceramic sculptor based in rural Northern California. He earned an MFA in Ceramics from Fort Hays State University and a B.A. in Studio Art with a minor in Art History from Humboldt State University.

Working across ceramics and mixed media sculpture, Simmons integrates mold making, casting, and glaze chemistry into a practice driven by material research and experimentation. Since 2023, he has developed original lava and reactive glaze formulas, using ceramic processes as both technical investigations and conceptual frameworks.

His work examines themes of psychological inheritance, mortality, resilience, and transformation through the lens of trauma, chronic illness, and recovery. Centered on Type 1 diabetes, his recent work examines how chronic illness is shaped by the body, medical systems, and the economic structures that govern access to care. Through ceramic sculpture, Simmons advocates for systemic reform, using material transformation as both metaphor and method to imagine more equitable models of healthcare. Fracture, eruption, accumulation, and repair become metaphors for the body’s capacity to endure, adapt, and ultimately ReForm.

Simmons has taught as Associate Faculty at College of the Redwoods and served on the Board of Directors of the Redwood Art Association in Eureka, California. His work has been exhibited in local, regional, and national exhibitions.