Jess Tolbert currently lives in El Paso, Texas and is Visiting Assistant Professor of Art and Head of the Jewelry + Metals program at the University of Texas, El Paso. She received her Masters and Bachelors degrees in Fine Arts, both with a focus on metal and jewelry. Jess actively exhibits her work nationally and internationally. Her research and studio practice explores and reconsiders the commonplace objects of everyday life and mass production, creating an intimate link to our relationship with labor and the built environment.