Jannah Atkins
Artist Statement
I keep my feet rooted to the Earth by walking and interacting with forests, wetlands, and urban habitats I build to stay grounded. From this, I interweave many ecological threads of overlooked and or hidden details throughout my work to celebrate the connections between living species. Emphasizing these connections, I use diverse materials and approaches to create portraits celebrating the spirits of animal and plant life I encounter or research. Fueled by ecological curiosities, expressions in my work fluctuate between my love of nature and ecosystems in crisis.
My artist practice is situated between two realities. One is a pristine ecology teeming with protected biodiversity and the other is an ecology of loss, massive firestorms, and monocropping represented by the white ghosts of the missing. Fragmented between two kinds of ecology, portraits presented throughout my work ground my research and making process and speak to the loss of habitat and missing spirits of the wild.
About
Jannah Atkins is a multimedia artist, curator, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. Her practice centers on creating contemporary ecological artworks that reflect on the relationships between people, place, and the living systems that sustain life. Through her studio practice and teaching, she creates both original artworks and grounded mixed media programs that support individual creative development, craftsmanship, and meaningful connections to the natural world. Alongside her studio work, she teaches drawing, painting and sculpture through a structured, skill-based approach that supports creative growth and lasting engagement with the visual arts.
Her path as an artist has been shaped by intensive experiences working closely with materials, ecosystems, and creative communities. Through her experiences as a curator, educator and maker, she has developed a practice that bridges observation, craftsmanship, and environmental awareness. The work is not only about creating objects, but about marking moments of connection between people and the natural world, between memory and presence, and between what is seen and what is often overlooked..