Artist Interview: Jill Metz

 
Name: Jill Metz
Name of Business: TRU Original LLC
Creative Influences: God, nature, family. When I think about an artist that inspires me most I’m surprised by my answer, Picasso. His work is so free and diverse. You could see that he was on a creative journey and not afraid to explore the limitlessness of ART. As far as influences go, I think I have truly been impacted by every artist I have ever seen, especially my mother.
Preferred Medium of Creativity: Mixed Medium and Collage, though I love abstract too.

Bio I have been married to the love of my life for 12 years and have been Blessed with 2 children, a girl11yrs, and a boy 10 yrs.
I went to college for a year where I took classes in art, psychology, and child development. I’m mostly a self - taught artist who has had the pleasure of taking many amazing art courses and workshops all over the country in the last 10 years. I have owned my creative business for 4 years and enjoy watching it grow and evolve according to God’s perfect timing.  

Links: www.truoriginal.com

Blog: http://truoriginal.blogspot.com/

  What is one of your earliest creative memories? I come from a very long line of creative women on my mother’s side and I feel like it has been a Blessing passed down through each generation.  One of my earliest memories is helping my mom collect flattened soda and beer cans so that she could paint a character on them, according to the shape of the can. As a 6 year old, it was so amazing to see my mom bring a piece of discarded trash to life.

Did your creative habits make a smooth transition into your adult life?  What did the evolution look like? Smooth? NO!  I believed for a very long time that my “creative habits” were more of a curse than a Blessing since I saw and did things in a very different way than most people. “Why can’t I be normal?” I would think. It has only been in the last 10 years that I have truly embraced this side of myself and stopped fighting God’s gift to me.

If you had a creative hiatus, what event/circumstance brought you back to your creative lifestyle? I spent most of my 20’s trying to live “mainstream” and really blocked my creative reality, which caused me to make some very poor choices. I was trying to fill the hole in my heart. I didn’t acknowledge God, I didn’t acknowledge my true self. After some time and really hitting one of many bottoms, I let Him back into my life and I let HimHimHim do for me, what I couldn’t do for myself, which was heal the brokenness of my childhood.  

How has GOD been a part of your creative process/lifestyle? Most of the time when I work on a piece, I invite the Holy Spirit into my art. It is very evident in my results when I have forgotten God in the process. It truly amazes me how He does that.  So when I paint well…it is Him.  The same holds true in my daily life. When things are good, it’s Him and when they suck, it’s me.

Is there a particular moment where your creativity became infused into a spiritual practice? I work every day to put God first in all that I do. I say work because this is not always easy for me. Sometimes it is, but mostly it is a choice I have to make daily. 

What are you working on currently? I have been playing a lot with ink and alcohol (not what you think) and enjoying the abstract results very much. Since I work very intuitively, trying to let God lead, I never know how any of my art work will turn out. Recently, I began taking a figurative painting class and enjoy getting back to the fundamentals though it is a bit challenging. Like Picasso, I too am on a creative journey and I’m so enjoying the ride.

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