Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Knox Powell.
Jill, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up surrounded by art every day. My parents are art collectors and have served as board members at various museums on the east and west coasts. I always loved art but I grew up performing, taking singing lessons and such. It wasn’t until after grad school that I really shifted gears. I graduated magna cum laude from NYU, studying theater history and sociology, and I have an MFA in acting from Brown University. In school I felt judged all the time. Obviously it’s the faculties job to critique you to make you better but the program I was in had some major blind spots to the racial tension within their house. I was put on probation in my first semester because I felt very emotionally unsafe there. In the very first week of school a white student told me that no one wanted to be my partner because I was “B.L.A.C.K.” She sung the spelling, laughed and walked away. I experienced several moments like that so I wasn’t the most available or generous collaborator. I didn’t feel valued as a classmate and I retreated. Because of that, I was put on probation.
Almost every day, after a long day of classes, I went back to my apartment and painted. I lived in a loft with high ceiling so I painted the walls. It was either paint them or climb them. I created all kinds of things late at night when I had some peace. I was determined to stick it out for the piece of paper at the end but after I graduated, performance fell short of artistic fulfillment. I continued painting a ton and put up an art show on my own at the Cell on 23rd street in Manhattan. My boyfriend at the time (now my husband) insisted that I show what I had been making. I sold a ton of pieces and shortly after that I moved to LA. LA is significantly more open to whatever is new and fresh than NY is. Here I have been able to jump into many different artistic arenas and find an audience.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say my biggest challenge as an artist at this point is that I don’t have an MFA in Studio Art. I am grateful to have found an audience primarily in the entertainment industry, that industry has been very kind to me, but serious art collectors don’t care about you unless you have an MFA from Yale. I mean….I have an MFA from Brown but not in the right discipline.
Unrelated but also VERY related – my husband and I had a very difficult time trying to have a baby. We tried and tried it with no luck. It was a very challenging time. Several years. It was during that time that I turned four drawings I had done into four coasters and my business The Young Rebel’s Studio was created. I launched as a coaster business and the coasters were very popular. I made them all by hand and they were sold in stores all over the US. Unfortunately I had to stop making them because I was developing great pain in my hands. But – it was out of the biggest challenge in my life that came my most fulfilling work.
Please tell us about The Young Rebel’s Studio.
I’m a mixed media artist who draws inspiration from language and texture. I tell stories in my work. My work is a call to action in many ways. The larger scale pieces I make out of yarn and acrylic are always incredibly bold. People can’t usually tell what creates the texture and when I tell them that It’s yarn they are always surprised.
When I started I’d been selling big canvases to actors, writers, and art departments for TV and film but rarely to my peers and biggest supporters. They couldn’t afford it. I wanted The Young Rebel’s Studio to bridge the gap. I wanted to create things that were functional and artistic. Things that made an impact and started conversations but didn’t take up a ton of space. I began with coasters but my product line has expanded into hand-painted shoes, prayer candles, jackets, chairs and more.
My work merges pop art, politics, and communication. I like to say that I create work for artists, activists, thinkers and drinkers.
Right now, I am doing a fundraising initiative with my buddy Ben Feldman who is an actor on the NBC show Superstore. We are selling kids Vans that I am handpainting. The proceeds are being divided among three charities. Stacey Abrams’ FAIR FIGHT, BLACK LIVES MATTER, and the NATIONAL BIRTH EQUITY COLLABORATION. The NBEC is particularly important to me because they are addressing the extremely high rates of maternal and fetal death for black women during childbirth – especially high when compared to white women. My first pregnancy, with my son, was nine months long and ended in stillbirth. We are calling this initiative The GREY Project because that is my son’s name. Also – grey is what happens when black and white comes together. We are making kid’s shoes because we believe that children are our chance for the brightest future.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I painted my toilet leopard print to match my towels. My mom was not thrilled. They had to replace that toilet when they sold the house.
Pricing:
- The Grey Project – $100 (including shipping). $75 goes to charity.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theyoungrebelsstudio.com
- Email: theyoungrebelsstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: theyoungrebelsstudio
Image Credit:
Jill Knox Powell
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