Meet Jordan Silvia | Artist & Art Educator

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

Hi Jordan, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Around 7th grade I knew I wanted a career in the arts. Many of my classmates wanted to be doctors or lawyers or athletes, but nothing ever connected with me as much as art. I was very clear to everyone about my intention to work in the arts after high school. I had no idea specifically what I wanted to do, but it was going to be art, no matter what anyone said, even my parents. I went off to art school, but I still couldn’t find my niche. I jumped around from painting to graphic design to photography, and ultimately to art history. When I graduated, I still had no clue what I wanted to do, and out of frustration, sold all of my art supplies, moved states, and swore off art. After spending some time working as a manager at a retail store, I threw up my hands, sick of wasting my time in such an unfulfilling job, and made the career move that I never thought I would – I became an art teacher. I hadn’t created any art after graduating from college, but I figured this job would at least fill the hole inside of me that missed art so dearly. Through the process of teaching, I felt guilty asking my students to maintain a daily art making habit when I wasn’t making anything other than my unfinished project examples or quick demos. Inspired by the desire to become a better teacher and artist, I began my own daily artmaking challenge, and through that process found so much personal and artistic growth. I was making connections in my local art community and started participating in pop-up events and eventually gallery exhibits. The journey of becoming a better educator for my students has led me to make so many incredible friendships, significantly improve my skills as an artist, and has given me the opportunity to start a small business with my art.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Like many artists, the road to finding my method and style was filled with many bumps and curves. I’ve experimented with watercolor animals, marker illustrations, acrylic abstracts, oil portraits… you name it. I was constantly looking at work by other artists and trying to warp it into a style I could call my own, but the results were obviously inauthentic. It wasn’t until I started playing around with colored pencils (a material I hadn’t picked up since high school), that I found what works for me. It also helped that I stopped looking at other artist’s work while drawing. The focus shifted to exclusively what I could do with the reference photo in front of me. That ended up being photorealistic representations of the things I like looking at: birds and other animals. I like to use unconventional drawing surfaces like wood and polystyrene plastic (Shrinky Dinks). I’ve started taking a daily photo of my drawing progress so I have something to look back on to reflect on my growth over time.

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.
When my best friend comes to visit, we always get breakfast and dinner together with other friends.. I’ve recently become fascinated by thrifting and antiquing, so visiting my favorite shops would absolutely be on the list of things to do. I love art museums and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach is one of my favorites, so I would have to bring him with me. He would definitely want to spend a morning at the beach reading, then walk the Stuart Riverwalk and watch the trains go by.

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 wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my parents. I know I made them nervous for several years while studying art with no goal in mind, and I remember the look of relief on their faces when I told them I was applying for teaching jobs. They are incredibly supportive of my teaching and artist career. They show up to all of my events and are constantly hyping me up when I show them works in progress. I don’t know what I would do without them.

Website: jordansilviaart.com

Instagram: @jordansilvia_art

Facebook: facebook.com/jordansilviaart

Other: TikTok: @jordansilvia_art