Adelle Jean

I was born and raised in the Seattle Area, and now reside and paint in a small town called Ferndale, near Bellingham Washington. I have suffered from arthritis and other health ailments, including schizophrenia, since my teen but still worked as a nurse's aide or cannery worker a lot of my life. Then in August 2003 I fell and broke my back and could no longer work. In September I was in the hospital and my brother died. I was overcome by grief and knew I needed to do something with my hands. The hospital had paints but no canvas or good surface to paint on. I asked a friend to bring me some little wooden plaques (5 by 7 inches) to paint on. I had never been much of a painter. But it was Rosh Hashanah and I painted a couple pieces for Rosh Hashanah and my friends loved them. When I went home I was in love with painting and I bought a bunch of paints and different types of canvas and became immediately a prolific painter--since I was disabled and couldn't work otherwise. By August the next year I was a much better painter, but could no longer live alone. So I now live in and paint at an Adult Family Home. I have had a couple of successful shows and my art is well received on the internet. I have had several commissions as well, amd my art has sold to places like The Hillel Center at Western Washington University and The Jewish Family Center in Tallehassee Florida.

I like to paint endearing and whimsical scenes of both Traditional and modern Jewish life. I like to employ the use of bold and vivid colors to show that although Judaism is an old religion, it is alive and vibrant today. I was told to paint what I love. I am in love with Judaism, in all its forms. I am a Jew by choice, meaning I am a convert. But I have been very close to Judaism since childhood as we lived in a Jewish community and later I went to live in a Jewsih foster home. So I really feel as if I were raised Jewish, although my biological family is not. I believe my images are not mine alone, although they are in no way copied. I believe I am not clever enough to come up with all this myself. I believe that somehow, first, G-d has given me these images and asked me to paint them, and second, perhaps I am able to tap into some sort of collective unconscioussness where the spirits of all Jews who ever lived, who are alive, and ever will live are able to give me the images I paint. I am grateful to G-D who has given me this art and something to do with my life inspite of the fact I am severely disabled and like it says in the prayerbook, He is the one who raises my head. I also thank all those who have nutured my art and encouraged me to go on.