Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Grace Owens.
Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a working artist for the last fifteen years, but what that looks like has shifted over time. I started out during the early days of Etsy and the rise of indie craft shows, and I had a lot of early success selling my work online and traveling around the country working craft show booths. I have a graphic design degree so packaging my work and developing a brand identity was something that came naturally to me.
I met a lot of people during this phase of my career — the craft show scene in those days felt really supportive and cozy — and as the people I met reached out about collaborations and commissions, I shifted pretty naturally into freelance work and custom portraiture. My most successful form of portraiture, and what I’m probably best known for, are my “paper doll portraits.” I made thousands of the tiny movable paper figures over about a decade. Many of them were for family portraits or wedding invitations, but I also made them into illustrations for clients like the New York Times and the Washington Post. I even made paper dolls that were animated for the opening title sequence for an ABC sitcom.
I stopped making the paper doll portraits about five years ago, when I found myself at home with a toddler during Covid. It felt like a natural time to move onto something new, although I may return to them one day. I still make larger wooden “paper dolls” in my studio work, which is my primary creative focus these days.
When I’m in the studio, I paint, mostly abstract compositions using acrylics on canvas. I sell my work online and exhibit it occasionally. My last exhibit focused on a body of work that rose from early motherhood. I’m currently piecing together a new collection of paintings and constructions that build upon that foundation, exploring figure, self-hood, and relationality through abstract fragments and shapes.
When I’m not in the studio, I also help run our family business, Redstart Foods. I serve as a kind of creative director for the business, and I also curate the retail section of Redstart Takeaway. If you visit, you’ll see the murals I painted all over the space.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Learning to balance motherhood and art has been an incredibly difficult but creatively rich challenge. After the birth of my first child, I had this new cap on my time. I had to learn how to put projects down, or squeeze them into an hour of nap time.
I felt this deep connection to the human experience, and I had so much raw emotion that I wanted to channel in the studio, but at the same time (cruelly!) there was so much less time to do it. I’ve had to adapt, learn to prioritize and focus in new and better ways, but there will probably never be enough time. I’m also learning to be okay with that.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
These days I’m focused on my studio work. I paint abstract compositions rooted in object and figure — I can’t shake the influence of my decade of figurative illustration. I can’t seem to shake the form of the paper doll, either, and I’m creating large scale versions of the moveable figures out of shaped MDF and acrylic paint. I’m very proud of the development of this form over the course of my career. Most recently, it’s been a playful way to explore challenges of motherhood and concepts of objectification.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Diversify your work and revenue streams without spreading yourself too thin. It’s a delicate balance and one that I’m still struggling daily to pin down.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jordangraceowens.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordangraceowens
