Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Van Sickle
Hi Jill, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After earning my fine arts degree from University of Wisconsin, River Falls, I moved into an artist co-op in downtown St. Paul, MN. This is where I began my career as a working artist, and I’ve been doing it even since!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was an intense internal struggle to accept that making art was going to be my career. Growing up in a lower-middle class household, I was determined to live a life where I was not in constant financial stress. In the first few years of college, I searched for a career path that would offer me a secure income. Finally, a friend pointed out to me that becoming an artist may not be a choice for me, but that it is an ingrained, inherent part of me. He was right.
From that point, my career had two equal parts; making artwork, and figuring out how to support myself financially with this artwork. It’s not always been an easy road, but I am proud so say I have, thus far, been able to manage it. I can confidently say that, though I’ll never be a wealthy woman, I do love my job.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Being a fiercely passionate person, whose mind is constantly swirling with anxiety, worry and fear, making artwork offers me, simply, hope.
Though I often jump from style to style, my artwork always is made with one goal in mind: a visual moment of relief. A moment of peace. A moment of beauty. Whether it’s an abstract look at a colorful garden, a common flower, or a minimalist look at the beauty of wildlife, my hope is to offer the viewer a moment of tranquility.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked with interior designers who have commissioned me to make paintings for hospitals and clinics. My work is on the walls of many health care facilities in the Metro area. Easily the most rewarding feedback I’ve ever received during this crazy journey, is people who send me messages from these facilities. People write me and tell me how my artwork offered them some calm or relief during stressful health scares. These little notes, often from strangers, make my heart swell. My job is done.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
My artwork can been found on my website www.vansickleart.com, and you can follow me on social media, @jillvansickle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vansickleart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillvansickle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vansickleart/
