mixed media
Jill Allyn Stafford
I was really honored when Jill Allyn Stafford said that I could write a post about her art. I’ve known Jill for several years now and am lucky enough to have one of her pieces in my house (plus a little ATC card that sits in the corner of my mirror). Jill somehow has the time to be the artistic director of Vox Sacramento in addition to being a mom, an artist, and working full time as a legal assistant. What I admire most about Jill’s work is the way she utilizes negative space, which is something that I struggle with.
Jill began creating art in her mid-30′s. She started realizing that she had images in her head that she wanted to place on paper. Claiming that she had no natural talent for drawing or painting. Jill started by cutting images out of magazines using them to create a new story. Jill’s work has now evolved from using recognizable images, to tearing up paper and creating a piece based on colors and textures, to creating everything by hand and using images from photographs she’s taken.
Traditionally, Jill has focused on one image and using that created a piece that worked around that image. However, Jill’s latest work is inspired by her friend Jennifer Hoffmann, who died of breast cancer last year. From Jill’s description of Jennifer it sounds like she was an amazing woman and I can see why she has been the driving force in Jill’s work the past year. Jill describes Jennifer this way:
She found the strength to leave an unhappy marriage, met and married the man she was supposed to be with, and almost immediately discovered she had stage IV breast cancer. Her diagnosis didn’t deter her from living life completely and fully and with all the deepest love and affection she could have possibly wanted.
