Jonesy

Artist Biography: In 1975 a girl was born in Phoenix, Arizona by the name of Erika Jones (now known as Jonesy). No one could have prepared for the development of what we now know her as... A creative force to be reckoned with. "I used to think I had to pick one thing I enjoyed doing as a kid and stick to that as a career." When She was 7, She got her first journal from a trip to Disneyland. it was her first of many. She began writing about anything and everything... Short stories, poetry, daily life experiences. At the age of 14, her grandfather asked what Jonesy wanted to be when She grew up and She said "a writer." He said "that's not realistic honey, you'll have to think of something else. Most people aren't successful writers." "I recall thinking how unfair it seemed, but I believed him." It was then that Jonesy took photography as a freshman in high school. She continued writing but it turns out, She had a eye through the lens. The following four years were consumed by photo education as well becoming a photo journalist for her high school yearbook. Before graduation, She was approached to shoot her first professional gig... A wedding. "Because I wasn't yet 18, I needed my father's signature on a consent form given by my teacher who had gotten me the gig." With excitement, She asked her dad to sign the paper and he said "I'm not signing this paper...what if you fu@! up the pictures or the development? You can't re do a wedding." Again, she felt like She must not have been good enough so.... that was that. Jonesy continued writing and taking pictures as a past time but couldn't figure a career choice she could commit to. Fast forward to 2002. Jonesy moved to San Francisco. She recalls writing poetry and journal entries on the daily, feeling inspired by the life SF was providing. In 2005, she and a friend went to a club in the SOMA district where she left a backpack with 3 of her journals, containing 10 years worth of writings. Upon returning to the vehicle, they discovered a window to her friend's truck had been broken and Jonesy's backpack was gone... Along with all of her writings. Jonesy says, " I remember falling to my knees and crying as though I had lost a best friend. My heart was crushed!" Her passion for writing was pulled from under her feet that night, stealing not only her bag and journals but also her desire to write anything. She felt defeated... Then one day she decided to try making a collage. For the first time in a couple years, Jonesy felt inspired again. "I remember I would spend hours, cutting pictures and shapes from magazines to create these elaborate art pieces. I wanted to try painting but felt intimidated, so I started by painting background colors for my collage pieces. Then I began painting objects or solid color shapes to go with the background and collage pieces. Now most of my art contains no collage...just me, experimenting with different paint technics and paint pens to form a variety of finished pieces." Fast forward time to present day... Jonesy says "if not for my writings being stolen that night, I may have never attempted to paint or grow into the painter/artist I am today." Since that tragic night in the SOMA, Jonesy has slowly started writing again, sparking the passion she once felt for words. In fact, she is now beginning to incorporate her words into her art pieces. "I love ART. ALL forms of it...and if I can inspire one person to open their mind and create something outside of their comfort zone then I am already living a successful life...I'm living the dream and happy doing it." -Jonesy