Meet Jill Lavetsky: Visual Artist, Educator, Mother

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill Lavetsky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, why did you pursue a creative career?
In some ways, I think a career in the arts found me, rather than the other way around. I have been interested in the visual arts since childhood, and it was an automatic decision when it came to what to study in college and what kind of jobs to pursue. I have a studio practice, and I am also an educator, currently in community arts outreach for the Norton Museum of Art. I am grateful to work in the creative field and share my gifts and interests with people of all ages. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work has gone in many different directions but I am mostly focused in painting, drawing, printmaking, and collage. I would say that the incredible women mentors I had during my graduate program were a big influence on my work. And my work has also transformed since becoming a mother four years ago. When my daughter was born, I began making work about my relationship with her. Mostly in the beginning it was a lot of wacky images about the day-to-day experiences, like breastfeeding, diapers, and the all-consuming nature of those things. Being able to share those images across the globe, mostly through social media and selling prints, has been so meaningful to me because it makes mothers everywhere, who are experiencing similar joys and challenges, feel less alone. And since then my work continues to be about my relationship with her, but has also grown to be about the complex nature of relationships in a broader sense. My studio practice seems to be cyclical, sometimes I find myself addressing themes that came up for me ten years ago. I believe there are some things intuitively inside of us that need to show themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I was born and raised in South Florida, and one of my favorite things to do is to show people from out of town the incredible natural places around here. The beach is great, but a lot of people don’t know that Florida has so many different ecosystems that aren’t as advertised to tourists. Maybe because tourists don’t love wading through cypress swamps like I do? We would go to the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, to Fisheating Creek in Palmdale, and to Big Cypress Preserve. I live in Lake Worth, so before we go we would stop to get some papusas from my favorite Salvadoran restaurant.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would give a shoutout to my family for their support. My parents may have had reservations about my career in the arts, because going to art school came with some weird experiences and weird people, but they never said it out loud and always, without fail, gave me encouragement. My husband has always helped with the logistical side of things, especially framing my work, and helping me think pragmatically about the business aspects of my practice. Also, my best friend, Siena, for being my pal for so many years and being willing to share a studio with me, which makes working in the studio a thousand times more fun.

Website: www.jilllavetsky.com
Instagram: @jilllavetsky