Jody Parmann
The self portrait sits by itself at the bottom of the stairs leading down to the cold brick and stone basement in Jody Parmann’s house. It’s the first thing you see. At first impression it seems discarded from the rest of her collection and her studio on the far side of the basement. It leans against the brick wall with dark eyes staring off into space, searching perhaps, seeking answers to whatever problems or challenges haunted the young woman at the time. Its placement is interesting. Casual and accidental? Or a subconscious message to both visitor and artist alike?
The soul-searching eyes are similar to those in the pencil drawing titled “Reflective” that exists now only on the Parmann family website. The original was lost to a flood a few years ago. In it a woman sits naked on the ground, her knees pulled in front of her for protection and comfort, yet at the same time she hides nothing. Her head is tilted down to the side and her eyes stare off into space, looking, searching. Although Jody doesn’t admit it, it’s hard not to view this as another self portrait. Not one of her physical self, but of the little girl sitting on the couch next to her mother, reading romance novels while her eyes dream of her “knight in shining armor”.
The portrait and the pencil drawing stand out because the woman hiding within these images isn’t the Jody Parmann people know today. Jody is a woman and an artist on the rise, having burst into the local art scene in 2003 when she joined the Shop after meeting Kevin Kuchen while attending SC4. Perhaps it wasn’t coincidence that she had just left a long-term, five-year relationship that seems to have suppressed her many talents. “Joining the Shop was awesome,” she said. “I had all of these ideas, and the artists at the Shop helped me gain confidence.” It was as if someone opened up the gates to her talent and it poured out freely, finally exposed to the world.
Sitting down with Jody today, if you can catch her, makes it hard to imagine the young woman in the self portrait. She is busy seven days a week and has a personality, spirit and innate talent that draw people to her. Chances are you have already seen her work, even if you didn’t realize it. Her talent captured the attention of the organizers of the Port Huron to Mackinac Race, which selected her work as the official logo and design for the 2005 race. Her paintings hang in the Harborside Office Center on Desmond Landing and in the offices of the Community Foundation.Earlier this year she was the featured (and only) artist invited todemonstrate her work at the anniversary dinner for Mainstreet. And if you’ve read the Times Herald or any of its special magazines and publications you have seen her design work.
It would have been easy for Jody’s art as an adult to reflect the personal tragedy she endured as a child and young woman. Losing her father when she was only seven and her mother at nineteen could have created a woman with a scarred view of the world. But it hasn’t. She could have grown into an artist with a dark and tormented palette. She didn’t. The indelible imprint her parents left during the years Jody knew them must have been stronger than the pain of their deaths and the challenging years that followed.
As a child she drew portraits of her mother’s friends, but never thought she’d be an artist, worried that she couldn’t make a living at it. She credits her high school art teacher, Scott Magneson, with helping her realize who she was and what made her happy.
“Today my work is still focused on the people around me,” she said. “I like to get to know someone, and then let my art draw from the feedback I get from them.” She admits though that as an artist she also pulls from her life and personal experiences. The fairies that sometimes appear in her drawings, like “Ethereal Slumber”, also on the Parmann website, are her personal work. She does them because they make her happy. Perhaps they remind her of her childhood, when life was still innocent. And like the woman in “Reflective” her fairies wear no clothes. Jody describes them as “whimsical and free.” She adds that, “Clothes mask their beauty and hides their feelings.” In “Ethereal Slumber” the fairly sleeps peacefully on a tree branch, resting perhaps, after a long night of rescuing a child’s dreams.
Looking around at the art decorating her home she calls it “bright.” And it is, except for the acrylic painting hanging in the stairway which was inspired by a nightmare. “I can’t pick a style,” she admits. The casual observer might notice similarities to Van Gogh, but actually Jody was most inspired by a Russian artist she discovered during high school, Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944). An innovative artist who believed in Gesamtkunst-werk, or the ‘total work of art,’ he played a critical role in the development of abstract art. His work was inspired by the passion of music and features brilliant colors—like Jody’s. He too had an interesting connection to the color blue.
Like many true artists her face brightens when she talks about the connection between artist and customer. “The feeling of satisfaction I get when someone connects with my work is more important than the money I get from selling it.” It’s easy to believe her. She donated paintings for two recent fund raising events, one after Hurricane Katrina and the other for the Child Abuse and Neglect Council.
It’s so exciting to see all of these partnerships come together,” she adds excitedly and rattles off recent examples demonstrating why Port Huron has a growing art community. “Acheson Ventures and Blueroot doing an art show benefit after Hurricane Katrina. Addictive Trenz holding art shows to raise money for abused children, The Shop, and now Studio 1219.”
From a little girl who once described herself as a “lonely child,” to a teenager who struggled to uncover a meaning to life, Jody Parmann is emerging as a confident, talented woman and artist who once again believe anything is possible.
Website gallery: http://jody.parmann.com
For more information Jody can be contacted at 810-357-1364 or by email - .
