The Jefferson City School District has turned out many students with a rich and varied array of gifts and talents. Phil Jones is just one of this large number. He graduated from JCHS in the school's 100th graduating class in May 1974. While at JCHS, he loved the arts and soaked his experience in them. He was in Chorale, every art class offered and also in the Operettas.
Pat Jones was his favorite teacher, and she taught art. Phil began sculpting his junior year, and today, he has pieces from coast to coast. Locally, you can visit his Thomas Jefferson at City Hall, Mark Twain at the Missouri River Regional Library, and Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln and Viziano Johnson in the Page Library on the Lincoln University campus. He has also sculpted The Beatles, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Katherine McPhee and James Taylor, and these busts reside in the subjects' respective homes.
Phil also is very passionate about children and animals. He specializes in custom portrait pet urns. He has pet urns all over the country as well. He enjoys his grandchildren and spends his time these days teaching art at Calvary Lutheran High School. He finds great joy in working with the students and teaching them how the arts are interdependent. He has initiated cooperation between the art department and the drama and music departments, and he attends as many events as possible to support his students.
Phil is also very active in the local arts community. Each year, he donates a custom sculpted piece to the CelebArty fundraiser to support Capital Arts. He is a member of the Jefferson City Art Club and is a juried artist in the artisan organization "Best of Missouri Hands." His primary medium is clay. Phil, however, also dabbles in many art forms such a writing, music and painting. He is a past featured artist at the Missouri State Fair where he was able to share some of his art education with the public. Currently, you can find his work at the Runge Nature Center, Capital Arts Gallery and Lincoln University library.
Phil has a bachelor's degree in computer sciences and history from Lincoln University and an MBA from Regis University in Denver. He works by commission and loves doing work for friends, family and fellow Jefferson Citians. He takes great joy in expressing himself through the arts and loves teaching and sharing his passion.
Leann Porrello is the cultural arts specialist with the Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department.