Partly cloudy skies. Areas of smoke and haze are possible, reducing visibility at times. Low near 60F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Areas of smoke and haze are possible, reducing visibility at times. Low near 60F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph.
Stoody often starts with an idea of what she will paint, but due to the movement and fluidity of alcohol ink, the paintings sometimes go in different directions.
A detailed floral painting done in alcohol ink is one of Jocelyn Stoody’s favorite works she has created so far. Stoody sells her paintings on Fridays and Sundays in a vendors tent in front of Ripley’s Believe It or Not on Newport’s Bayfront.
Jocelyn Stoody, uses an air gun to move alcohol paint around a new piece of art. Stoody calls herself a “maker” and has been creating since she was child. (Photos by Susan Schuytema)
Stoody often starts with an idea of what she will paint, but due to the movement and fluidity of alcohol ink, the paintings sometimes go in different directions.
A detailed floral painting done in alcohol ink is one of Jocelyn Stoody’s favorite works she has created so far. Stoody sells her paintings on Fridays and Sundays in a vendors tent in front of Ripley’s Believe It or Not on Newport’s Bayfront.
Don’t ask Jocelyn Stoody to stop painting. And don’t call her an artist.
Stoody calls herself a “maker” rather than an artist. “I used to avoid the word artist because it seemed too fancy,” she said. A maker is someone who is always creating something new. Her first memory of making something was when she was six-years-old and her grandmother taught her to crochet. She made an entire scarf during that trip and hasn’t stopped making since.
“I glommed onto any craft things I could get my hands on,” Stoody recalled. “I just loved making things.” She continued crocheting, and eventually learned to sew and did cake and cookie decorating, needle felting, cooking, photography and bead work.
While living in Sedona in 2003, she discovered Precious Metal Clay — a crafting medium consisting of very small particles of metal such as silver, gold, bronze, or copper mixed with an organic binder and water for use in making jewelry, beads and small sculptures. Stoody took every class on the clay she could find and started combining that with her beadwork. At the time, it was a new product and gave her a unique way to create metal pieces.
When she and her husband Rick moved to Bozeman, Montana, she took a job at a funeral home. She noticed the memorial jewelry offered to families was ugly and not easy to use and found she could use the metal clay and integrate the ashes directly into a piece.
In 2015, Stoody created a company making memorial pieces called, “Lifetime Art.” Her son, Max, came aboard in 2017 and now runs the business.
Stoody and her husband Rick moved to the Oregon coast in 2020. It was the beginning of the COVID pandemic and there weren’t many opportunities to get involved in the local art scene. She started meeting people on the beach when she walked her dog and made a some connections. The past two years, she painted banners for the Nye Beach Banner project and recently gave a presentation at the Visual Arts Center.
“I was just astounded by the graciousness, kindness and willingness of the community to embrace this new person,” she said.
“I didn’t know what my next medium would be but knew I had to keep doing stuff because I’m a maker,” Stoody said. She eventually met Seal Rock artist Susan Hanson who showed her alcohol ink and how it works. “When I first started playing with it, I was hooked. And I mean hooked.”
Stoody starts her paintings with an idea, but the alcohol ink tells her where to go. “It’s the perfect combination of you deciding what to do and it deciding for you,” she explained. “It’s just the perfect relationship. And it keeps me from being too particular and I love that. I just try to stay loose as I go. It’s so freeing and I just can’t get enough.”
She feels fortunate to be at a point in her life where she just wants to have fun without the pressure of trying to be perfect. “I don’t have any ideas about becoming some great artist or starting a new career. I don’t care about any of that anymore,” Stoody said.
With help from her husband, Stoody sells her art from a vendor’s tent on Fridays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. along with two other area artists in front of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not on the Bayfront.
“If my husband wasn’t helping me, this would not be happening — any of it. It is building your own store every time we set up.”
For now, Stoody enjoys visiting with people who stop to look at her art. While in the tent, she takes her paintings and makes them into jewelry and magnets which she also sells.
“I may try to get into stores and start doing art shows around Oregon. It would be fun to travel” she said.
Stoody paints every day that she can and misses it if she can’t.
“I have to make stuff. I feel gifted with this. I am not saying I am gifted when I do it,” she laughed. “But I feel gifted with the love of it.”
Stoody does not have a website yet and is working on setting up her Instagram account. Look for her on the Bayfront or contact her by emailing myartaerie@gmail.com or 928-300-6760.
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