Jill is an old soul & bird nerd living in Eden, Utah, with her young family. She adores illustrating the natural world, using different styles and mediums to best capture and interpret her subjects. When she’s not illustrating, you will find her looking up soup recipes (that’s the only thing she can cook) and working on various woodcarving projects.
WHAT DID YOU GET IN TROUBLE FOR AS A KID? ANYTHING ADULTS TOLD YOU TO AVOID THAT’S ACTUALLY A BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE NOW?
I’m 6th of 7 children and usually got the scraps of all the good snacks. So I would regularly ferret away things like entire containers of Nutella and gorge myself before everyone else could eat them. Which, obviously, I got in trouble for. Fast forward to nowadays, where daily, well-earned snacks are a huge part of my life. And I’m still not very good at sharing them!
ANY PERSON WHO REALLY HELPED YOU IN YOUR AWESOME ARTISTIC JOURNEY?
I’ve always been “artsy” but had planned to do something “responsible” like nursing or dental hygiene. My husband, Michael, was the first person who encouraged me to pursue what I actually loved. My grades went from D's to A’s, and I’ve never been happier that he encouraged me to be so irresponsible!
LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK? ANYTHING SPECIAL IN YOUR WORK SPACE THAT UNLEASHES YOUR CREATIVE JUICES?
I alternate between super-embarrassing Romantacy audiobooks, super nerdy science podcasts and music playlists consisting mainly of ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s music.
MORNING BIRD OR NIGHT OWL?
I love owls but I’m definitely that crackpot little black-capped chickadee, up bright and early!
ANY ACTIVITIES, EXERCISES OR STRATEGIES TO PULL YOURSELF OUT OF THE OCCASIONAL ARTISTIC RUT?
It’s impossible for me to not be inspired to create after listening to a science/nature podcast. And one of the best ways for me to remember what I’ve learned is to create artwork out of it! So if I listen to a podcast about the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, you’d better believe I’m drawing that thing so I don’t forget how crazy it is!
