Artwork copyright Jesse Joshua Watson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2025.

Artwork copyright Jesse Joshua Watson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2025.

Artwork copyright Jesse Joshua Watson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2025.

Artwork copyright Jesse Joshua Watson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2025.

Artwork copyright Jesse Joshua Watson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2025.

Our Origin Stories, 2025

Jesse Joshua Watson
American (born 1972)

Location: River Ridge Elementary, SeaTac

About the Artwork

Our Origin Stories by Jesse Watson celebrates the journeys each of us took to get here. Watson’s painting shares the unique cultures represented at the school and city. It also displays some of the things we all share in common, regardless of what continent we came from. The painting shows portals, and each portal is a different place where many students at the school come from. In front of the portals are children who are discovering similar elements from their own origin stories in those of their classmates. Watson stresses the importance of embracing our differences together. Sharing knowledge and culture makes each of us stronger, wiser, and better equipped to move confidently into the future, together.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Kent School District.

About the Artist

Jesse Joshua Watson is an artist and art teacher who lives with his wife and sons in Port Townsend, on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwestern Washington. His art has been featured in many children’s books, as well as on book covers, magazines, concert posters, and album covers. Watson has travelled widely, often getting involved in social justice and crisis response projects in places such as Haiti, Hong Kong, and Russia. He plays soccer and music, and fishes and surfs the PNW waters.