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Artists In Jackson - Jessica Leeland

Artists In Jackson: Jessica Leeland

Art has always been central to Jessica Leeland’s life. 

“I’ve always done it,” she says. “My brother was an artist. My parents were artists.” 

Music, theater, and psychology – together with the visual arts – shaped her early creative world, giving her what she calls “the arts in the whole realm of my life.”

That foundation eventually led Jessica to discover art therapy in college, something she “had no idea” existed until professors recognized her ability to connect with others and encouraged her to explore it. 

Jessica soon realized that art could be used not just for expression, but to help people. 

“That was my favorite thing, finding out that you could actually help people by utilizing it,” she says.

Choosing Education at a Critical Moment

Jessica initially planned to pursue clinical art therapy, but a sudden opportunity changed everything. 

When a music teacher unexpectedly left a local elementary school, she was faced with a choice: continue the art therapy path, or help kids in a different, but related, way. 

“I thought, ‘If I don’t jump now, I’ll never do it,’” she recalls.

Rather than waiting years to complete art therapy’s clinical requirements, Jessica chose to step into teaching and advocate for arts education where she felt it was missing. 

“Kids need the tools now, in elementary,” she says. 

In education, Jessica could give students access to creative tools early, before those opportunities disappear. 

“You can still play sports and be an artist. You can still go be a doctor and be an artist. You just have to balance the schedule.”

Artists In Jackson - Jessica Leeland

Teaching as Creative Advocacy

In the classroom, Jessica merges artistic practice with therapeutic principles. She emphasizes pausing, reflecting, and making choices. 

“It’s okay to pause,” she tells students. “And then watching them and hearing them speak the words, ‘no means no. Those are my boundaries.’ Those are healthy. This is OK.”

Jessica remembers one moment that confirmed she was exactly where she needed to be. 

“A child told me they had never held a paintbrush before,” she says. “That was their first time painting. When that hit me, I knew I was meant to be here.”

Over time, she has seen the impact. Students repeat her language back to parents. Former 4H participants return and tell her, “You told me last year to do this.” For Leeland, those moments are everything. 

“That’s game over for me,” she says. “That’s it.”

Her Own Studio Practice

Despite the demands of teaching and family life – she’s married with two kids – Jessica remains committed to her own art. 

“If I don’t create for myself in a certain amount of time, I become bitter,” she says. “It’s me flushing my brain out.”

Her Art 634 studio is essential – a place where her brain knows it is time to create.

Jessica’s work spans life drawing, paint pouring, acrylic paintingArtists In Jackson - Jessica Leeland, and ongoing experimentation. 

“I’m very much a try it out, test it kind of person,” she explains. 

Much of her work is human-centered, shaped by anatomy, psychology, and emotional experience. 

“It just needs to come out of me,” she says.

While her art began as something “for nobody but myself,” sharing it has become part of the process. Teaching, creating, and continuing to evolve are inseparable for Leeland. 

“This is exactly what I was looking for,” she says.

Follow Jessica's studio on Facebook

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Gary Willcock

Artists In Jackson: Gary Willcock

For Gary Willcock, art is something built from the inside out.

His story begins with buildings.

“I studied architecture at the University of Michigan,” he says. “I worked for a company in Pontiac called Custom Home Design, for Architonics here in Jackson, and I used to moonlight doing drawings at night. I got into a lot of places, met a lot of people, did some fun things.”

Gary grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As he moved around the state, he was raised in houses without plumbing or a refrigerator, where every wall and nail carried meaning.

“All those structures had a special place in my life,” he says. “After World War II, there was a huge building boom. Every vacant lot disappeared, and I got involved in it somehow. When my dad decided to build a house, I was part of that. I didn’t know anything about architecture, but I liked designing houses. They told me, ‘That’s an architect.’ So off I went.”

Even after he left formal architecture for design and engineering work, the mindset stayed.

“Wherever I’ve lived, I play with the building,” Gary says. “If I see an empty building, I start massaging it in my mind.”

Gary’s Living Sculpture

Gary and his wife Christie live on seven wooded acres south of Jackson, a place they call Wind Mountain.

“When I moved in here, this part of the house was just a covered slab,” he says. “I enclosed it, added a reverse gable, and kept going. Over the years, I’ve changed almost everything.”

He built patios, redesigned the kitchen, and drew every trim detail himself.

“This is all my design: the casing, the woodwork. I had it custom-made by the man who built my cupboards,” he says.

Christie calls their home “a living sculpture.” Gary agrees.

“At some point, I wanted my life to be a piece of art,” he says. “To live in this structure where I’ve created all this stuff. I’m walking through my own big sculpture, and it’s functional.”

Sculptures of Precision and Play

Gary’s sculptures merge precision and imagination.

“I’m rigid in some ways,” he laughs. “Right angles all the way. That’s from my mother: you didn’t color outside the lines.”

His background in product and machine design shows in the materials he chooses: anodized aluminum, steel, acrylic, and found parts.

“I think of machines as robots,” he says. “Even a car is a robot. A robotic horse.”

His fascination with robots goes back to childhood.

“For some reason, I never got rid of a toy robot I bought in about 1948,” Gary says. “I bought it at Montgomery Ward in Royal Oak. It cost a dollar.”

Years later, his oldest son found a reproduction and bought it for him, sparking a new collection.

“Then somebody else gave me one, and another, and pretty soon it became a thing,” he laughs. Now, robots, along with dogs, fill his shelves.

“They all have personalities,” he says. “Some of my sculptures do too.”

Light is another essential part of his work.

“I enjoy how it plays off different surfaces, how it bounces around through the holes,” he says. “Some pieces have lenses. You look in one end and out the other, like a telescope.”

His sculptures often carry names that hint at humor and personality: Light Scope, Nest, Red Foreman, SEA AWL.

“I’m corny,” he admits. “But I like it when people lean in to look. Art should make you curious.”

Gary Willcock

Champion of Local Art

Walk through Gary and Christie’s house, and every wall holds local art.

“If you want a creative community, you support it,” he says. “You show up to openings, you buy work when you can, you encourage people.”

“We buy it because we like it, not because we have to,” Christie adds. “The people who made this work are our friends.”

Gary smiles at that. “Art is connection. You don’t create in isolation.”

Gary Willcock

Making Meaning through art

After raising six children and working full-time, Gary returned to art in retirement.

“I had to work, so all this was on the back burner,” he says. “One day I told myself, ‘If you’re ever going to do something, you better get off your seat and do it now.’ ”

Now an active member of several local art communities and collectives, Gary continues to draw, design, and build.

“I think art gives meaning to life,” he says. “It reminds us to look closer, to pay attention, to see more.”

Visit Gary's website  |  Follow Gary on Facebook

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Tim Péwé

Artists In Jackson: Tim Péwé

Tim Péwé creates art that moves.

Known for his figurative and kinetic sculptures, Tim’s work blends whimsy with craftsmanship. His pieces often balance, spin, or sway – sometimes, just for fun.

“A lot of this stuff moves or has a purpose, but it’s not like a practical purpose,” he says. “I like the idea of making something that does something, but there’s really no reason for it.”

Early Creativity

Tim’s creative story begins far from Michigan, in the western U.S.

Growing up a creative kid in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and later spending time in Oregon, Tim was drawn to the outdoors and the tactile world of making things. His early fascination with Native American culture and ancient traditions, particularly those of the Hopi and Zuni tribes, shaped his artistic sensibility.

“We’d go to the dances at the Pueblo. That exposure made me more interested in a lot of different cultures,” he says.

Before sculpture became his calling, Tim built a career in construction and contracting. He specialized in marble and tile work, creating intricate inlays and custom medallions for homes and businesses in and around Naples, Florida.

“I always liked working with my hands,” he explains. “I started doing tile and marble, and then I’d make tables with inlays. It was creative, but it was also practical.”

Those years, and those early cultural touchpoints, taught him the skills and worldview that would later define his art.

Experimentation and Autonomy

Tim never studied sculpture formally. Instead, he learned by doing.

“I definitely progressed because a lot of the earlier stuff, when I look at it now, it’s kind of rough,” he admits. “I guess it was just experimenting.”

That spirit of exploration remains central to his work. For Tim, art is freedom.

“You don’t have a boss telling you no,” he says. “You’re your own boss. If someone doesn’t like it, that’s fine. And if someone does, that’s great.”

Figurative and Kinetic Sculpture

Today, Tim is best known for his figurative and kinetic pieces. His portfolio (and his property) is filled with curious representations and characters. In his studio, he’s carving a standing wooden figure. Out in the yard, there’s a head made of stone.

“To me, figurative art is more appealing. I don’t like abstract,” he says. “I always like just having an idea and thinking, ‘I’d like to see it actually exist.’ It’s almost like an invention.”

Tim’s studio in rural Jackson is a workshop of constant motion. He works with reclaimed materials, metal scraps, and wood, often starting with a single piece that sparks an idea.

“It’s the fun part to pick something up and then actually make it,” he says. “After it’s done, I’m not as worried about it anymore.”

Tim Péwé

Beyond his studio, Tim is an active presence in mid- and southeast Michigan’s art scene. He exhibits regularly in Detroit-area galleries and participates in local shows that bring together regional artists.

His work has become a familiar highlight at community art events, where its playful energy draws both collectors and casual viewers.

Brigit, his wife, sums up his appeal simply: “Tim’s work makes you smile. It’s clever and full of life.”

For Tim, that playfulness is the point.

“Either way, I just like making things,” he says. “If someone connects with it, that’s even better.”

Visit Tim's website

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Jen Dixon - Artists In Jackson

Artists In Jackson: Jen Dixon

Just a few years ago, Jen Dixon couldn’t brush their teeth, let alone imagine being surrounded by community and creativity.

“I was agoraphobic for five years,” they explain. “Didn’t meet people. I was training for COVID before COVID.”

The isolation was deepened by chronic illness, pain, and years of battling to be seen—not just as a person living with disabilities, but also as a nonbinary creative with a past shaped by trauma and tenacity.

Today, Jen stands surrounded by microscopes, T-shirts, illuminated signs, handmade cellular art, and a growing circle of collaborators who genuinely believe in them.

“Right now, I think the real art is learning to trust myself again,” they say.

A Scientific Soul in a Maker’s World

Jen’s path hasn’t followed any straight lines. They first studied computer programming while working full-time and caring for a terminally ill fiancé.

But after a near-death experience caused by a massive blood clot following a roller derby injury, they re-evaluated everything.

“I remember crawling across the floor thinking, ‘This is your last moment. Experience it,’” Jen recalls. “And after surviving that, cubicles just weren’t going to cut it.”

What followed was a dive into botany, volunteering at Iowa State’s herbarium, and eventually entering a PhD program.

Their love of science came with an endless hunger to understand.

“One of my professors said I was an artist with the soul of a scientist,” they say. “That felt true.”

Jen’s artistic practice came to life while teaching plant systematics in Iowa.

When a visually impaired student entered their classroom, Jen faced a challenge: how to share the microscopic beauty of cellular structures with someone who couldn’t see them?

That night, they created a clay version of a microscope slide and transformed invisible wonders into tactile art. If the student couldn’t see the cell, then they would be able to feel it.

“I don’t know how well it worked for her,” they say, “but for me, it unlocked something. It made me think: what if everyone could feel this beauty?”

Creating with Curiosity, Sharing with Empathy

From there, Jen’s art grew out of curiosity and constraint. While bedridden, they began sketching detailed cellular forms in Procreate, finding comfort in radial symmetry and microscopic inspiration.

Eventually, they started laser-engraving these intricate images into wood and velvet.

“I just wanted to see if it would work,” they say. “It was all experimentation.”

Jen’s art now includes protest T-shirts, building signage, velvet-burned botanical forms, and tactile pieces made of wood and reused materials.

“It all came from wanting people to experience wonder—even if they can’t see it the traditional way,” Jen explains. “There’s got to be a way to share that.”

Today, Jen’s studio is a living lab—a DIY playground of soldered lights, etched acrylic, scavenged pipe supports, and refurbished microscopes.

“Everything is a version one,” they laugh. “The next version will be better, but I have to start somewhere.”

Jen Dixon - Artists In Jackson

Building a Community That Builds You Back

Jen is now helping to build a community at The Sparks (formerly the Commercial Exchange), where collaboration drives creativity and progress.

From teaching others how to build and reusing materials to organizing artist showcases, they’ve found their voice again.

“I used to think I didn’t have any value unless I met society’s expectations,” they say. “Now I just try stuff. And it’s working. All these different paths in my life, they have all culminated into skills and work that’s relevant and useful.”

Even through lingering self-doubt and social anxiety, Jen persists – out into the sun and into an artistic team.

“I’m deciding how I engage with the world now,” they said. “I see the potential for the future, even if it’s scary. I catch the future out of the corner of my eye. And I’m scared to look right at it because it may disappear.”

“But right now? My future is possible.”

Follow Jen on Instagram

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Dylan Sodt

Artists In Jackson: Dylan Sodt

Inside the welcoming walls of 21 Blooms Tattoo Studio, Dylan Sodt (he/they) is quietly reshaping how people see themselves, one piercing at a time.

Dylan is a piercer, but that barely scratches the surface. For them, piercing is not just a form of body modification. It’s a practice of empowerment, trust, and transformation.

“I can build a little home with people in 30 minutes,” they say. “It creates a ritual environment. It’s an energetic exchange. They’re trusting me—and that’s when I think I have the best job.”

Born and raised in Jackson, Dylan’s path to piercing was anything but linear. He started by sketching the human figure as a kid and later found creative expression as a drummer in local bands. For much of his adult life, Dylan worked in restaurants, eventually managing the bar and kitchen at Sandhill Crane Vineyards. But even while building menus and leading teams, a deeper pull was growing.

“I hit a point where I needed something new,” he recalls.

Just two days after leaving the vineyards, he began a piercing apprenticeship.

“Piercing found me,” Dylan says.

Precision Meets Purpose

Dylan SodtThat leap of faith led them into a world where artistic intuition and technical precision are inseparable. Their practice is steeped in anatomy, geometry, and material science.

“It’s engineering on a smaller scale,” Dylan says.

Before he started working with Lauren Maureen of Emerald Sun Studios, Dylan had to start at the beginning: an apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship is the cornerstone of ethical piercing, and Dylan’s journey was a slow and deliberate one.

“You don’t even touch a needle for months. You learn the biology of wound healing, jewelry angles, and sterilization.”

But even more than technique, piercing is about people. Dylan specializes in body reclamation: helping those who have experienced trauma, abuse, or body dysmorphia reconnect with themselves.

“I want clients to feel more empowered when they leave here,” they say. “I’ve had clients squeal when they see themselves in the mirror. That sound? It means everything.”

Their work is artistic and deeply personal. Dylan observes each client closely: how they dress, carry themselves, the undertones of their skin, hair, and eye color.

“I have 30 minutes to clock your style,” he says. “It’s like painting on someone else’s canvas. Then it walks out the door and lives a whole life.”

From simple lobe studs to advanced curated ear setups, every piece is placed with aesthetic intention and precision measured in millimeters.

“We have to create the illusion of symmetry. If it’s off, people will feel it. Others will notice.”

Confidence, Care, and Ritual

Empowerment doesn’t come without responsibility. Dylan sees self-confidence as a professional obligation.

“You need a god complex to do this work—not arrogance, but self-respect,” they say. “You have to put clients at ease. There’s no room for shaky hands.”

They draw on Buddhist practices like breathwork and meditation to stay grounded and present, offering their clients not only a piercing, but also a moment of calm and clarity.

Outside the studio, Dylan finds creative joy in cooking—“an art form that doesn’t belong to me,” they say. “It’s all colors and flavors, and then it’s gone in 15 minutes.”

They surround themself with earth tones, thrifted treasures, and houseplants, always seeking to breathe new life into the old. That ethos flows directly into their work.

“What I do gives people a new image of themselves,” they say.

Community and Collaboration at 21 Blooms

At 21 Blooms, Dylan has found a creative home. The studio, owned by Emily Radke and envisioned as a hub for full-time piercers, is more than a workplace.

It’s a collaborative sanctuary.

“We push each other here,” Dylan says. “We talk through designs, hold critique nights. There’s a vulnerability in that, but it makes us all better.”

For them, the studio is also a commitment to raising the standard in Jackson.

“This city deserves a proper piercing space. If you get pierced by me, I consider you a client forever. I’m an island of proper piercing.”

Looking ahead, Dylan is pursuing certification with the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), a national standard of excellence in the field.

“There’s no ceiling in this work. You can always get better,” they say.

From the restaurant floor to the piercing chair, and no matter their tools, Dylan has always been in the business of care.

“I’m in service of an idea,” they say. “That people can see themselves differently. That they can walk out of here and feel like they belong to themselves again.”

Follow Dylan on Instagram

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Jason Heinrich

Artists In Jackson: Jason Heinrich

Tucked in a cozy corner of Art 634 in Jackson, Michigan, Jason Heinrich’s Yesterdream Studio isn’t just a storefront. It’s a portal to comfort, creativity, and memory.

Admittedly, the space defies easy classification.

“It’s not really a furniture store, not really a record store, not really a gift shop,” Jason says with a laugh. “But it’s also all of those things.”

Growing up in a Downriver factory town in the 1980s, Jason was surrounded by the aesthetic leftovers of previous decades: glass lamps, mid-century furniture, the sound of rock and roll.

“Especially in finished basements and cottages, there was always that old stuff from the ’60s and ’70s. It was everywhere,” he says. “That became my comfort. I didn’t know it then, but I’ve always been chasing that feeling.”

At Yesterdream Studio, that sense of comfort is Jason’s goal. Everything in the space invites visitors to slow down, remember, and then use the items in the shop to make their own space comfortable.

“Transforming your space can transform your mental health,” Jason says. “If you’re surrounded by things that bring you comfort, it affects your mood. That’s a big part of why I do this.”

Finding His Way to Jackson

Jason’s journey here hasn’t followed a straight line. After starting out in fine arts, he spent several years as a laborer in the plumbing trades, his family’s profession stretching back generations. Later, he earned a certificate in graphic design and worked in marketing roles for various Michigan associations. That work included working as a graphic designer and social media manager for marketing departments

Jason HeinrichBut every time he stepped away from art, something pulled him back.

“I’ve tried to reinvent myself so many times,” he says. “But creativity always finds its way back in. I don’t go looking for creative work. It just kind of finds me.”

He opened Yesterdream Studio in 2023 at Art 634, after years of collecting, designing, and repurposing, while continuing to work on freelance graphic design and marketing projects.

Jason says his work revolves around sustainability.

“One of the biggest parts of this place is to reimagine, repurpose, and reuse,” Jason says. “There’s no reason to buy brand-new when you can take something old, paint it funky colors, and give it new life. And it’s better for the environment.”

His love for natural patinas and vintage design finds its way into the usefulness and beauty of everyday objects. For an example, Jason points to a large metal tackle box on his shelf.

“People throw stuff away because they don’t see the value. But to me, this tackle box is beautifully designed. It could be anything—a painter’s box, a face painter’s kit, whatever,” he says. “That’s what I love about it.”

Everything Old Is New

Jason’s love of vintage also extends to running a local steampunk convention.

His journey from Renaissance fairs to Steampunk festivals began in the early 2000s. After discovering Steampunk in 2011, he launched monthly events and co-created the Gears, Beards, & Beers competition. Partnering with DJ Van Helsteam, they later hosted the Monster Hunter Bash.

When Michigan’s Steampunk scene slowed during the pandemic, Jason found new inspiration at Art 634. In 2023, he launched Steampunk on the Bricks, a one-day festival that blends workshops, live performances, and integrated vendor experiences. Now in its second year, the event draws hundreds from across the Midwest thanks to support from Art 634, Experience Jackson, and Manchester Underground.

AN Antidote to Intensity

Jason is productive, often jumping from project to project—painting, cooking, woodworking—and he rarely sits still for too long.

“It’s kind of like checking things off a list,” he says. “One minute, I’m carving a walking stick, and the next, I’m painting a side table. It’s all over the place, but it works for me.”

Above all, Jason wants Yesterdream Studio to provide an antidote to the intensity of modern life.

“The world’s gotten meaner,” he says. “People are stressed out, trying to survive. We’ve lost compassion and grace. I wanted to build a space that reminds people to slow down, to breathe.”

His space also invites other artists, including his colleagues from Art 634, to collaborate and network, which helps create a productive, inspiring space for Jason to dabble and create.

“I just want to be around authenticity,” he says. “No personas, no fakeness. Just real people being real. That’s what this space is about.”

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Logan Swoffer - Artists In Jackson

Artists In Jackson: Logan Swoffer

Creativity and transformation define Logan Swoffer’s artistic journey. 

As both a musician and printmaker, his artistic evolution is deeply tied to his lived experiences that were shaped by hardship, discovery, and ultimately, a second chance at life. 

His near-death experience in 2023 profoundly changed his perspective, instilling a newfound appreciation for beauty and a drive to create. 

Finding His Path

Logan was born in Jackson, Michigan, but his journey took an early turn when he moved to Arizona with his mother and stepfather in the fifth grade. 

Settling in Deer Creek near Flagstaff, he discovered his passion for music at 14, picking up the guitar and finding that creativity “flipped on like a light switch.” He also dabbled in graffiti and doodling, though his artistic pursuits remained mostly informal at the time.

In 2005, after high school, Logan began traveling back and forth between Arizona and Michigan. Eventually, he and his mother left Arizona for good, escaping a difficult situation with his stepfather. He reconnected with his biological father, a poet and printmaker, and the more time they spent together, the more Logan saw their similarities. 

“He was a scoundrel, so I come by that naturally,” he jokes. 

His father’s work in printmaking would later become a major influence on Logan’s artistic career.

During this period, Logan became immersed in the local Jackson music scene while working various jobs, including a long stint in medical billing. Music remained a core part of his identity, but his artistic journey had yet to fully take shape.

A Life-Changing Liver Transplant

Years of heavy drinking caught up with Logan in 2023 when he fell critically ill. 

At the time, he was working at Unleashed and Loving It when he began experiencing aches and fatigue. Friends and coworkers noticed his declining health, but it wasn’t until his mother intervened that he finally sought medical help. 

Doctors diagnosed him with hepatic encephalopathy, a life-threatening condition caused by liver failure. Days away from death, Logan was rushed to Detroit for a liver transplant in May 2023.

Reflecting on this experience, he describes it as a complete transformation.

”I didn’t do a 180; I vanished and came back a different person,” Logan says. “One week you’re going to die, then you go to sleep and wake up a changed person. It’s a beautiful thing.” 

His recovery was swift, but the experience left a profound impact on his outlook. Now immunocompromised and managing ongoing health risks, Logan embraces his “new normal” with gratitude and determination.

A New Artistic Purpose

Following his transplant, Logan found himself drawn to beauty in a way he never had before. Seeing an Instagram post about printmaking ignited a deep passion within him. 

“It lit me up like a firecracker,” he says. 

Though he had never considered himself a visual artist, he quickly embraced the medium, exploring printmaking, watercolor, and mixed media. 

“Maybe I got a bit of my liver donor’s soul, but something changed,” Logan says. “I saw things I didn’t use to see.”

His art often blends delicate floral imagery with bold political statements, advocating for trans rights and marginalized communities. 

“Print is the perfect vessel. I can put it up wherever I want. Say what I want. The pointedness is out of necessity,” he says. 

While he strives to balance political messages with beauty, he acknowledges that art is a powerful tool for activism.

Sobriety and Moving Forward

Logan Swoffer - Artists In JacksonLogan’s sobriety is deeply tied to his gratitude for the second chance he’s been given. 

“I do it out of respect for my donor, who died and gifted me with this new lease on life,” he says. 

He has since built a strong community of sober friends who support one another in their shared commitment to a healthier lifestyle. Since January 2024, Logan has been working out of Art 634, where he’s found another supportive and inspiring community.

“You could make art anywhere, but going to a creative space? I just love it here,” he says. 

He hopes to contribute to Jackson’s cultural revival by expanding his reach through zines, exhibitions, and collaborative projects.

Looking ahead, Logan remains focused on growing his artistic presence. 

“I could’ve gotten into archery or race cars, but I saw that printmaking video, and that’s what stuck,” he says. 

Through music and printmaking, Logan channels his gratitude, using art as both a personal outlet and a means to inspire others.

Follow Logan on Instagram |  Shop Logan's Store

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Artists In Jackson 2: The Sequel

Ten years ago, I introduced my first big creative portrait project called Artists In Jackson. Through that project, I got to know our local artists. Together, we told their stories and let our community know we have a talented bunch of people right here in our hometown. 

And – bonus! – I met and made some good friends along the way.

Since then, a lot has changed. I worked on a spiritual sequel, Musicians In Jackson, and then the pandemic hit. Here we are five years later, and I’m happy to announce I’m working on my next big portrait project, Artists In Jackson 2.

This one will be a little different. Instead of disappearing for six months and re-emerging with a fancy book and a bunch of pictures, I want to treat this project more like a platform.

Here’s how it works:

  • Over time, I’ll work on photo subjects and help tell their stories.
  • You will see these profiles periodically as I work on them and get them done. You don’t have to wait for a book – you’ll see my progress as it’s happening, either on social media or my website.
  • And it will just keep going. There’s no end, there’s no finish line. Artists In Jackson becomes a platform to tell stories, not a website or a book.

Dione Tripp - Artists In Jackson

At a point in time, when I have enough profiles done, I can collect them all and make a book or a ‘zine of some kind. 

But that’s not the goal. The goal is to tell stories about creative people in our community. 

And I have some profiles already set up to publish – one, reaching back several years, on Dione Tripp (above). Others I have a head-start on and you’ll see those soon. As always, I’m open to your ideas and tips on creative people in and from Jackson.

I hope you’ll join me in this new experiment. I’m excited to once again share these homegrown artists, their work, and their stories.

Get all the details at ArtistsInJackson.com.

 

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