Jodie Niss
Jodie Niss is a working artist and educator living in Brooklyn, New York. Niss' work encapsulates the beauty in the unintentionally humorous or profound mundanity of the American experience, leaving the viewer with the compelling narrative of unconventional nostalgia and strong emotions observed in a liminal space. Her studio practice involves a variety of painting and drawing techniques with a focus on oil painting, using texture and color to heighten the senses of beauty, sexuality, fear, and loneliness.
Niss' work has been included in a variety of group shows, including Mrs. Gallery, Maspeth, NY; Hashimoto Contemporary, LA; Post Gallery Zurich, Switzerland; Fort Makers, Manhattan NY; Raw Meat publications, Brooklyn, NY; Untitled Art Fair, Miami FL; and Honey Ramka, Brooklyn NY. She received her MFA from Pratt Institute in 2008 and her BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design with a minor in printmaking in 2004.
Collect Bean: What does growth mean to you?
Jodie Niss: Growth is the ability to adapt to new knowledge in changing times. Growth is about not being stagnant in thought, in technical ability, and as a mind in an ever-changing body. As a creative, I'm always interested in learning and growing. I don't think the creative mind understands a stagnant mindset. For me, everything is growth in my creative and spiritual endeavors. I try to stay open to it. When I stop growing, I stop evolving. And that sounds like death to me.
Collect Bean: What does an ideal day in your studio look like?
Jodie Niss: An ideal day in the studio is when I get to be there with no interruptions. I like to feel like I have all the time in the world to think and create. There is a beautiful freedom in that.
Collect Bean: What is the kindest thing someone can tell you about your work?
Jodie Niss: I am filled with joy when my work speaks to my viewers. Even if a piece only speaks to one person, I'm happy. If they get an intense flood of emotion and connection to a work, their body language alone is all I need to be satisfied. It does not matter what they say. It's a sense of connection that I look for.
Collect Bean: What role does color play in your practice?
Jodie Niss: Color plays a big role in my work. It helps me emanate the mood and emotion I'm feeling in a moment. Color plays a big part in the visual conversation of image-making. I guess value is even more important than color technically, but color speaks visually like sound speaks in music.
Collect Bean: What is one of your current goals as an artist?
Jodie Niss: All of my goals are based on finding a way to paint more, have a bigger studio, and be healthy and balanced at the same time.
Collect Bean: How do you decide on the subject matter for a painting?
Jodie Niss: I find images that speak to me emotionally and represent my current thoughts. I spend a lot of time doing image research.
Collect Bean: What is something that you do to stay focused?
Jodie Niss: Once I start, I don't want to stop. It's more like what do I do to unfocus, so I get sleep, exercise, eat, and am ready for my job. If I don't feel like painting, I probably need to listen to my body, rest, exercise, read, and see friends.
Collect Bean: How do you balance your practice with your daily life?
Jodie Niss: This is difficult for me in the normal sense of life balance. So I do my best to stay balanced with healthy food and exercise, but I don't work in a very balanced way naturally. I'm an extremist. I work my day job teaching in long days chunked together. This allows me to have three-day weekends to work extensive, full days in the studio. I use most of my time off for studio days. And when I feel like I finally need a real break, I take off and leave to separate from everything fully. Hopefully, one day, I will find a better balance, but for now, I'm happy.
Collect Bean: Do you have a saying that you live by?
Jodie Niss: Don't make resolutions. Just do it now if you want it.
