MEET ARTIST, JODI STROM
Art has been a constant in my life. Nature was the beginning - my first teacher, my playground, my muse. As a child, I climbed trees, explored with near-forensic curiosity, and studied the plants and animals around me, both wild and domestic. The trees became my aerie, my nesting place to look out and wonder, sometimes climbing too high, sometimes needing help getting back down, always curious about what lay beyond.
Alongside this deep bond with the natural world grew a fascination with my Scandinavian roots, where I come from, and eventually, where all form and matter come from. In my mind, I was a scientist. In my heart and hands, an artist. That duality still shapes how I work today.
Politics and social awareness were also part of my early life, teaching me the importance of fairness, honesty, and care - for land, for spirit, for truth. These values quietly permeate my paintings, informing not just what I paint, but how and why.
I approach my practice almost scientifically, observing structure, dissecting form, understanding it academically and artistically before paint ever touches the canvas. And then something shifts. Structure loosens. Time dissolves. That’s when the magic happens.
What follows is a sensitive, intimate exchange, heart to hand to brushstroke. Meticulousness gives way to freedom. Order becomes unstructured and finds its way back again. A glint in a cow’s eye, the droop of a petal, small moments that feel poetic, suggestive, and quietly transcendent.
Through my work, I see art as a teacher, a healer, and a source of joy and humour. Art, to me, is alive.
And I continue to wonder, through paint and presence:
What is this dance that animates us all?
JODI DESCRIBES HER PROCESS
I work in acrylic and mixed media, which means I use water based acrylic paint and mediums alongside a variety of materials that may be attached to the canvas or support board, such as found or created papers and textures. This mixed media aspect has provided me an opportunity to invite chance and synchronistic opportunity into each image, as well as allowed me to loosen into the creative process in a way not possible with acrylic paint alone.
INCORPORATING NATURE
I am mindful of the environment and strive to reduce waste and use as many sustainable products as possible. I usually begin feeling inspired by something I’ve seen or experienced in nature, or a local story I’ve heard, such as our local elk herds’ shenanigans. I may then begin researching imagery or creating my own, through photography or drawing. I am also immensely inspired by a local photographer whose work is of the flora and fauna of this local landscape. As this has been the primary inspiration of my work, I am occasionally
inspired directly by these photographs. If I use a photograph like this as source material for a painting, I will obtain consent and credit them in the completed piece.
THE CREATIVE FLOW
I put on my ‘Create!’ playlist, start sketching and then begin. Sometimes I use a canvas that already has imagery or mixed media applied, which can introduce an element of surprise. If I’m very fortunate, I will experience a flow state while painting, whereby I become immersed in the process and unaware of time or my surroundings. (I’ve learned to set a timer, or I will miss meals). Paintings begin loosely and move through many stages, including the notorious ‘ugly stage’ before arriving at completion. Some paintings need to be tucked away out of sight for a time before being ready for more. Others happen quickly. The creative process is a mysterious dance!
Once complete, the canvas is finished with a protective isolation coat and varnish and prepared for hanging in your home. The printer then takes a high quality photograph that we keep on file, ready for marketing and print orders.
I acknowledge, with humility and gratitude, that I live and work on the traditional lands and unceded territory of the Quw’utsun’ people, who have been keepers of these lands since time immemorial. My relationship with this land and community continues to evolve as I open to learning and sharing the truth of our collective history.