Artist's Statement



I'm not really sure just how I do what I do as I create. As I write or sculpt or paint, play an instrument or sing, I disappear, becoming whatever it is that is being creatively born. It is only in a sort of shimmering aftermath that I realize I have been absent, and like a whale emerging from the depths suddenly 'I am' once more.
I am sitting in a room. There is a window beside me, softened at its edges by curtains, and a breeze pulls through. There is a floor beneath my feet. Where have I been?

Then I look and see that the paper beneath my hands is no longer blank, or the room resonates with the music that has flown forth from the guitar I am holding. Words have crowded onto the page of my notebook like a gathering of gleeful old friends. Something I cannot fully explain, whose origins are a complete mystery, exists, where before it did not.


While I do not know how I do what I do, I deeply know why. Much of the world is in pain, and those of us in it feel, in various ways, the dissonance, as the pain reverberates through. Something is wrong with the way we regard the Earth. Something is broken as we treat each other so poorly, as we stagnate in hate, and as we are absorbed by fear. Something needs to change, as we are so bad to ourselves, as we succumb to doubt, isolation and anger.

As I disappear, I think I must be seeking a solution to some of these challenges, issues, and difficulties. What I bring back with me, in words or images or music, responds to the friction, loneliness, misunderstanding and hurt in the world. It questions the way things are, and suggests kindness, symbiosis, awareness and playfulness. It acknowledges what we may lose if we cannot change from our present course, but never fully deviates from the joy and brightness that is still possible.


- Jorie Jenkins



Monday, June 13, 2016

Symbiosis : The Bee


A featured piece created specifically for the show at the Fernie Brae Gallery, 'Symbiosis' is a playful but environmental look at the interrelation of creatures in the natural realm.

The arrival of the Pill Bugs (also known as the Rollies) is a welcome sight for the bees, who are aware of increasing toxicity in the plants and soils they depend on for sustenance. Many of these toxins have been introduced by Man, and such foreign chemicals pose a threat to the survival of the Bee species. The Pill Bugs are known for leeching toxins from soil, and, in return, seek protection from the hives they assist.

The embroidery patterns in the bee's clothing were derived from the shape of the hives in which they live, and the colors blue and yellow were chosen specifically because bees can see blue, yellow and blue-green. The antennae decorations seem to amuse many who see this piece, and I have often thought that many species of insect would adorn themselves with such shiny, appealing objects.

This piece was particularly comical as it emerged, and I found myself giggling again and again as the faces of the individual Pill Bugs came to fruition.

18x24 illustration, matted to 22x28

$500
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