A Connecticut native, Jody is a graduate of the Paier College of Art. She has designed and illustrated projects ranging from books to tableware and sculpture and is a pioneering artist in the medium of polymer clay. Her work has been featured in numerous books and publications, including an instructional video in the Mindstorm Productions Master Artisan series.  Jody has recently returned to painting, where her creative journey began.




Artist’s Statement  

I paint what I know, images that remind me of a memory, or the things that I have loved since childhood. I was lucky enough to grow up in a small Connecticut town at the edge of the state forest, at a time when our television set got three channels reliably and four on a good day.  The natural world and the books I read were my entertainment. My time was spent drawing pictures and making things. I’ve come to understand that this is my way of understanding the world. Now I paint the birds that I once watched for hours and the chipmunks that my second cousins had trained to eat sunflower seeds from their hands.

For me, the old adage that every picture tells a story is quite true. The objects that I choose for my still life paintings are not merely forms in a composition; they are a tangible record of the lives that touched them. The wear and tear of daily use makes these objects beautiful.  While some artists paint to draw attention to the darker side of humanity, which absolutely has its place in society, my path is to remind us that life can also be beautiful and that there is much in this world to celebrate.  If we ignore what is good about life, how will we find the strength to fix the parts that are broken? If my paintings can add some measure of enjoyment to your life, I’m happy because that means I have done my job well.