Jolley’s work — narrative and figurative — stems from his view of the human condition, which early on was influenced by writings about the changes in the South from an agrarian to an industrial culture. He originally studied painting, but found in glass, which had no sculptural tradition in the U.S. when he began working in 1974, a “clean slate” upon which to work.

Richard Jolley opened his first studio in 1975 in a two-car garage, but now he has a 10,000 square foot studio with a number of employees. He spends a lot of time choreographing the work in the “hot shop” with his team, but also enjoys the solitude of working in his studio. He has a strong work ethic and often works 80 hours per week.

He does not open his studio or shop to visitors as he feels that would interfere with the concentration needed in his work. He intentionally chose not to teach, but he does consider it important to “give back.” He likes to work with middle and high school students on occasion, especially those that others might consider “at-risk.” (He does not like using such labels himself.)

Jolley feels he has been influenced by growing up in Oak Ridge surrounded by science programs, but his primary artistic influence was the 20th century artistic movement in Tennessee known as the Fugitives/Agrarian movement. He has also been influenced by Early Modernism, especially the work of Modigliani, Matisse and Brancusi.