Jill Lynne Ness
Artist & Writer

Artist Motto: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when you grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

Jill Lynne Ness found her way into the art world by a dare. She has always had a creative streak, although her educational background is in creative writing—not visual art. Jill holds an MFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College and won the Dean's Award there for her thesis, Acquainted with the Night (©1993), a memoir on her experience with severe depression.

Jill's artwork started selling the very first year she started creating (2009). She has won awards for both her art and her writing, and has private collectors of her work, which primarily consists of (1) mixed media paintings with tactile texture; (2) charcoal portraits; (3) intense, bold watercolors; and (4) artwork that incorporates quotes and/or her own creative writing. Her art can be seen throughout the year at exhibits at different locations around the Twin Cities, as well as biannually at the St. Paul Art Crawl.

Jill is a self--taught artist. She attends Jill an art group regularly 2-3 times a week at Bridgeview CSP in Fridley, where she also heads a writing workshop, pBridgeview is supported by its parent company, Lee Carlson Center for Mental Health & Well-Being.

In December 2013, Jill was awarded one of seven VSA Minnesota/Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Grants. She will be working on her multi-media project (encompassing both her art and her writing) throughout 2014; at the end of the year, she and the other grant recipients had exhibition/performance of their work at Soo Gallery in Minneapolis. You can hearJill reading one of her poems she also read at Soo Gallery, "HerStory in Haiku," as it was later broadcast on KAXE Northern Community Radio's "The Beat" on April 15, 2014, in the archive section at https://m.prx.org/stories/116765.

Contact Info:
Jill Lynne Ness
Email: jillynneness@icloud.com
Website: www.mnartists.org/Jill_Lynne_Ness