Meet Jess Ackerman | Artist

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

Hi Jess, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My balance is horrible. In every sense of the word, haha. Being an addict, I will 100% live/breathe/hyper-obsess on my ‘thing’. Thankfully, I am 6 years sober from substances now, but the addict is still worming its way into other facets. When I had a structured day job, it was easier to have balance. I was still a work-aholic, but there was the act of clocking out. Living as a ‘working artist’ (and any self employed person) there is no clocking out. It’s just always on the mind. I continue to try and create a healthier structure but I can never seem to stick to it. It’s 14 hr studio days till 2am or bust.

I think a combination of productivity=self worth as well as truly loving what I do keeps me in a more unhealthy loop. But I keep trying new things to even it out. I have a lot of wonderful people in my life keeping me accountable. 🙂

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
y’know, I never thought I would actually be here. I was brought up with a mindset where being an artist wasn’t a career, its a hobby. You need stability to survive in our society and a creative life is never going to feed you. So I genuinely approached my practice as just that, a practice, a hobby, and extra thing. I have been making work and showing actively for nearly 15 years. It hasn’t been until recently that more people are finding my work and really responding to it. When I got sober 6 years ago, my work changed quite drastically. I loosened up and began working with acrylic on canvas instead of ink on paper. became a bit more abstract and less illustrative. Maybe more emotional lol

I feel fortunate that it has felt really fluid for me to continue to grow in this profession. But it really has to do with staying grounded in your values as a human and creative. It’s easy to sell out. Remember who you are and disregarding the social pressures of wanting to attract ‘fame’ or ‘attention’. There is alot to be said about the ways social media can mess your head up, so ill spare you haha but i will say, it should never be something a person or artist uses to place value on themself OR their work. duh

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
in Portland???

Well I am VERY LUCKY in that my bff works in my studio with me lol but my favorite things currently:

Saturday PSU farmers market- its big and fun
Floating World Comics- more than comics, amazing underground weirdo art books and everything
Fisk- gallery/shop/deisgn studio
Mississippi Records- records lol, best in the biz
Little Axe- rad af
SweeDeeDee- food
Lovelys 50/50- dinner, pizza, ice cream
Dove Vivi- cornmeal crust pizza
Lone Pine Cemetery- its old and cool to walk around
Rebel/Rebel- gay bar supremacy
Red Fox- Bar
Florida Room- bar
Angel Face- Bar
Olo- Perfumerie
Extraco- very strong coffee, old school dirt dog vibe
Hollywood Theater- oldschool, seats suck but always the best time
Laurelhurst Theater- same as above
Half Day Market- monthly trans owned and operated vintage/maker market

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It has taken a village!!!!!!!! I am incredibly privileged to have the peers and partner that I do. My partner Sam Smith is a chef with nearly 20 years in the industry at this point. And being around his sheer obsession and devotion to his craft is one of the most inspiring things, and has deeply affected my work. Our home is endless piles and piles and shelves upon shelves of cookbooks, reference, menus, history. He is completely enveloped in his practice, and exploration of different corners of food as well as service, climate, farming and culture. It’s a limitless world, and I feel its so similar to being a visual artist. Being with someone who is as immersed in their work as I am has really allowed me to look at my life differently and push myself in ways I never would have without him.

My friends/peers keep me HUMBLE let me tell you! They are my family, my good time boys, my lil stinkers. Mica DeMarquez, Ashley Hardy, Lyudmila Zotova, Luke Forsyth, Lane Walkup, Lindsey Cuenca Walker, Alex Stone. Are always checking me and keeping me in my lane, and well fed/hydrated lol

Website: jessackerman.com

Instagram: @sleepyjess

Image Credits
artist portrait by Kate Shannon