Jolie Joseph-Spelman
Jolie Joseph Spelman artistic journey spans nearly her entire life. She was born in Miami and raised in Orlando long before Walt Disney World arrived. After obtaining three BAs from the University of Central Florida, she remained to teach, work and raise her family in Orlando. Jolie has taught art to literally thousands of children, young adults and adults since 1991.
While her children were young, the family spent time camping and at the beaches throughout Florida. Florida sunsets and sunrises have the most amazing color palettes reflected in her work. She has had the opportunity to travel through most of Western Europe and throughout her travels she is particularly sensitive to the subtitle color palettes of each country and city and mountain and valley. She is influenced by the passage of time, overlapping colors and textures of Florida’s forest paths and endless shorelines. Additionally, reflective light, location, and space have become an important metaphor in her work. Jolie’s goals include being a leader in her community to advocate for art and art education. She recently was appointed by Orlando’s Mayor Buddy Dyer to the Mennello Museum’s Board of Trustees and is very excited about what this 2 year appointment holds. In April 2023, she received an Honor Award in the Emeritus category and honors from Woman in Arts 2023- a female artist hall of fame. Jolie is a veteran art educator, for over 30 years and she has taught everyone from young children to college and high school students, young adults to seniors. She had developed and implemented curriculum in a variety of 2D and 3D areas including: AP Studio Art, Advanced Portfolio Development and 2D Design 1-3 & Ceramics/Pottery.
She has continued to paint, exhibit and teach small art classes through Central Florida and beyond. She accepts commissions and her work hangs in hotels, restaurants and galleries in Chicago, New York, Pennsylvania and in Central Florida She has been recognized by United Arts with a Professional Development Grant (2008) and has a long relationship in the art community serving the Founding Board of Directors as a leader in the Downtown Arts District (2007-2010) and was a member of Orlando Museum of Art's Council of 101 (2008-11 & 2022 and is currently serving for the City of Orlando’s Mennello Museum Board of Trustees. "In the spring of 2019 I decided I wanted to do a solo art show. I needed to check that off my list of accomplishments. In June 2020 “You Are Here” is an Art Show featuring the work of Florida Artist Jolie Joseph Spelman opened at City Arts Gallery - Orlando. Despite opening during the beginning of the pandemic it was hugely successful. Eleven of 21 works sold. The show featured recent work that is focused on the unique Florida landscape as interpreted through the lenses of modern Impressionism. Her expressionistic style mixed with Impressionism and post impressionism. “You Are Here” was a huge success. It was a visual representation of Jolie’s unique experiences and interaction with Florida’s flora and fauna with a sense of place. In March 2021 Jolie contracted COVID-19 and spent 48 days in the hospital where she fought for her life. She was ventilated for 15 days and nearly lost the battle. She is grateful for the prayer warriors, the dedicated attendants, nurses and doctors who saved her life. Covid may have damaged her lungs but not her spirit and love of life.
In May 2022 she was commissioned to create illustrations for “The Feeling is Bright” and it has been published by Conscious Discipline, a nationally recognized education publisher Conscious Discipline. Received top honors from Creative Child Magazine - 2023 Book of the Year - Kids Category. She was just commissioned to work on a children’s 5 book series by an independent author and publisher. In June 2023, Jolie was hired by Creative City Project-Orlando to be the costume designer for an adaption of Camille Saint Saen’s “Carnival of Animals”. This show features 17 original masks, and headdresses worn by dancers and actors portraying a menagerie of circus animals set to the Orlando Philharmonic in live performance at Cheyenne Saloon in 6 shows in late August 2023. The future is bright for Jolie with many new projects on the horizon.
