I make art because I have always needed a way to process what I notice. A quiet moment, a familiar face, colors that will not leave me alone. Painting, photography, and fiber arts are just different languages I like to use to express it.

I never set out to be an artist first and lifting others up second. Turns out, for me the two were always intertwined.

MEET JORIE

I grew up in Palatine, a small suburb in the Northwest Chicago Metro, and studied Fine Art with an emphasis in Art Therapy and Psychology at the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. Later I earned my Master of Arts in Art Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and along the way, I learned how significant art making is for the artists but also for building thriving communities.