Art and community have always been a critical part of Jodie Dilno’s life. Growing up, she had a natural love of acrylic paint and other 2-dimensional mediums, eventually leading her to pursue an art degree from Kellogg Community College. Throughout college, Jodie also used her artistic talent to give back to the community by creating several murals for an elementary school in her hometown – Hastings, Michigan.
While art was always a part of her life, even while pursuing other interests, her career and passion heightened when Jodie moved to Key West, Florida. She began working on intricate, holistic murals again and also found another passion: sculpting. For several years, Jodie entered several mystery art competitions, leading her to explore sculptures as a new and exciting art form. In 2011, Jodie won a 2nd place Award for Excellence in these competitions.
Jodie’s life changed in January 2015, when she was involved in a car accident that left her with traumatic brain injuries and an injured right arm. As a result, Jodie was bedridden and returned to Hastings. While recovering, she rediscovered her love of acrylic paint and attempted painting with her left hand, beginning what Jodie calls her “year of left-handed art”. During this time, she was able to fully devote herself to her medium of choice and keep herself busy. She also began accepting commission pieces from both individuals and several businesses around Hastings.
Her newly-fueled passion is what led to the creation of Jodie Dilno’s three-piece architectural series titled “Pieces,” which was selected as a winner of the 2016 ACTion Art gallery, sponsored by Grand Rapids-local nonprofit Artists Creating Together. The series features three individual paintings – “Reflections,” “Door No. 3,” and “Escape” – all of which are realistic-looking images of different urban buildings, twisted in a new perspective. All of the pieces, Jodie explained, are inspired by photographs that she took wandering through Grand Rapids and her hometown. The series “Pieces” is developed from cropped and manipulated photographs to create a visually intriguing set.
"I love photographing ideas for future work," Jodie shared about her artistic process. "It’s enjoyable to crop and manipulate them into interesting angles. I like finding the shapes, shadows, textures, and forms I can work into my artwork to create a visually interesting image."
Jodie’s artwork will be on display in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel during ArtPrize, starting September 21st. For more information about Jodie and her artwork, visit her ArtPrize bio page at http://www.artprize.org/jodie-dilno, or visit the ACTion Art page through Artists Creating Together at http://www.artistscreatingtogether.org/artprize. Jodie is vote code 63815.
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