Joely C. Rogers is an artist/illustrator and writer living in the mountains of western North Carolina. Her artwork focuses on nature, food, folklore/myths, and the magic of everyday living.

She has professional training in both natural science illustration and the culinary arts, as well as graduate academic training in education, sociolinguistics, and folklore/storytelling. She is a Blue Ridge Naturalist candidate with the North Carolina Arboretum and a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.

Joely has exhibited in Texas, where she previously lived, and in various online exhibitions. Her food illustrations were recently featured in “Drawn4 – Leaders in Contemporary Illustration” by Capsules Book. Contact her directly for collaborations and commissions.

In addition, she has extensive knowledge of picture framing and image display. Along with her husband Mark Rogers, she co-owns Frame Destination, an online picture frame company for DIY framers founded in 2005. Joely writes about the marketing, display, and selling of art on Frame Destination’s blog.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I use a combination of hand-drawn images and Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop to create digital artwork inspired by elements of nature, local foodways, and mythology/folklore.

My drawing skills, academic studies, and digital capabilities work in concert when creating my art, or, as I like to call them, my visual stories, which are series-based bodies of work depicted in a folk-art style imbued with regional flavor.

I find inspiration in my daily interactions with nature and my ongoing studies in folklore and foodways. I am also inspired by restaurants, farmers markets, and antique stores I encounter locally and on my travels. Underlying all of this are memories of my rural south Mississippi upbringing, where we planted gardens, roamed wild under the stars, and drank sweet tea on the porch in community.

Find her at Joelycrogers.com or on LinkedIn