Joseph Rincones

Born and raised in Southwest Kansas, Joseph Rincones began his ceramic studies at Garden City Community College where he received his Associates in Arts, In 2007 he pursued his Bachelors Degree at Wichita State University and graduated with a BFA (ceramic emphasis ). After graduating from WSU in 2010, Rincones became the Resident Artist at the historic Wichita Center for the Arts. Rincones has stayed busy within the Wichita art community, teaching pottery classes at the Derby Rec Center, as well as City Arts. He continues to stay busy, participating in festivals and shows and any other opportunities that arise for community support.

"Similar to our own personality, clay contains characteristics that can be visually and physically complex. It can be forced into desired shapes that can stimulate actions, as well as conversations. It possesses the ability to look soft but be extremely hard, or look hard yet feel extremely soft. Clay is a poetic material, it is very honest and inviting, yet fierce and difficult all at the same time. My work is an exploration on how this material evolves into my own expression and how it embodies my own lifestyle. I investigate the medium through a cultural lens, and develop vessels and elements that embody what it is to be Chicano. My culture takes great pride in objects that give us individuality, objects that reflect optimism, and objects that promote dignity. Taking part in the creation of these objects that are otherwise unobtainable on a monetary level, provides a sense of honor and pride while allowing for personal expression."