Jerry Joslin was born in Portland, Oregon in 1942. He graduated from Portland State College in 1966. Before turning to sculpture, he spent a decade studying various art forms, while serving as Captain aboard the U.S.G.S. research vessel, Polaris. Later, selling everything he owned to buy a 43-foot ketch, he cruised throughout the Caribbean, the South Pacific and Latin America for three years.

In 1974, he returned to Oregon and went to work for the Lake Oswego Fire Department. About the same time, he became interested in bronze sculpture, when a Port Angeles, Washington artist friend opened a foundry and offered to cast a piece for him. He had long been interested in art as a form of expression and, once he got involved in the process of casting bronze and sculpting, he could not let go.

Joslin never thought sculpture would become more than an expensive hobby He continued firefighting until 1990. Now he works in his home, in a large airy space next to the kitchen with plenty of space for his large pieces of sculpture.

Although Joslin took a couple of art classes in college, painting and drawing, he considers himself self-taught. His subject matter varies widely and the pieces range in size from less than a foot high to larger than life. Most are privately owned, but some of the life-size ones have been bought by city parks, libraries and hospitals.