Ocean Jones
USA

“The intrinsic value and beauty of nature combined with found materials provides the spark that ignites my creations.”

Ocean Jones of Mariposa, California creates mixed media art that combines natural and recycled elements. Her deep connection with nature and the love of writing, photography, art and books developed during her childhood in the central San Joaquin Valley. This led her on a journey that included every aspect of bookmaking- from calligraphy to poetry, papermaking and bindery in addition to publishing to complete the picture.

She continues using these skills today combining natural and recycled elements in addition to other unique ephemera. Ocean’s written poetry can be seen as the background for her framed pieces as well as shredded then woven beautifully into heart ornaments and spirit nests. She incorporates feathers, beads, fibers and magic charms as embellishments.

Her education at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and Fresno Pacific enriched her life and inspired her path even further. As a result, she discovered the joys and challenges of teaching for twenty-five years. This included creating and directing the high school Valley Voices Poetry Program for ten years. Now retired, Ocean creates her sacred gifts to share with you. Colourful, whimsical, soulful - may they find their way into your heart.

These metallic calligraphy bookmarks are puzzle pieces from the following poem.

Why I Read

Whenever I have a free moment
I dive into anything I can read
Newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes, electronic communiqués
And when I have more than a moment
I snuggle into the pages of any number of books
Poetry, novels, biographies, spiritual soul searches,
Non fiction, short stories, essays, "how to" do almost anything
I find my mind recreating a phantasmagoric collage of experiences
In my wild dream life
I travel through time, meet new friends, run from invisible demons
Fall in love, walk on the beach, climb mountains,
Dive to the depths of the ocean, walk on the moon
I might be a maiden, a knight, a dolphin, an invisible force of good
My spirit roams freely in the world of Hesse, Sartre, Nin, Jeffers, Lawrence,
Chagall, O'Keefe, Hokusai, Ansel, Muir, Kahlo…
Walking into their lives, loves, minds. I become them
Dream their dreams, laugh shyly in their shadows
Forever changed…