Jules left her home state of Ohio to come to the Northwest in 1985. She began working for established ceramic jewelry artists here before developing and selling her own jewelry and pottery. Her sculptural pop-cartoon painting style in acrylic on wood has evolved steadily over the last twenty years, born from the possibilities she found in slab-rolled clay.

From multi-level cutout paintings to three-dimensional murals, Jules uses every opportunity to combine 2D and 3D for a larger-than-life effect. She created two of the pigs for Pike Place Market’s “Pigs on Parade 2007”. Jules also currently curates, promotes and teaches for the studio/gallery she co-founded in 2006, Lowell Art Works in Everett, and serves as its president.

She is honored to be chosen 2010 Artist of the Year by the Arts Council of Snohomish County.

"My painting style could be described as neo-Dada surreal pop cartoon. I enjoy creating pieces that inhabit the space several doors past mildly absurd, that invite the viewer to temporarily abandon decorum and expectation. I find the freedom I crave in this approach to say anything and everything, or nothing at all loudly, often within the same piece. I work primarily in acrylic on wood I cut out with jigsaw, to make paintings, mural components and furniture. I also work on canvas and paper. (I do adore the Space Needle, though I also enjoy placing it in ridiculous artistic peril.)

Art for me is an extension of my arms and legs. A juxtaposition of objects or an unusual shape is what usually starts my wheels turning. I tend to be initially inspired by the visual, shape and color; meanings usually surface to me later, but occasionally the reverse happens. I'm drawn to curving lines, bright colors, sparkly, shiny things which I collect and hoard in my nest...

I dream about paint*; my sketchbook sleeps beside the bed. Often I find inspiration in the tools themselves; jigsaw, sanders, brushes, airbrush, and hand tools. I love when a piece is about two-thirds done, as it turns that corner from materials to art. One of my favorite pictures is of Alexander Calder in his cluttered studio, surrounded by bits and pieces of things, raw materials oozing with ideas. What really makes me giddy is to find out that something I've done has planted a seed, inspired someone else to explore a new direction or lit a spark in their imagination. That's what art is about, to me; exponential possibilities. In addition to painting, illustration and murals, currently I am enjoying experimenting with furniture design/construction and silversmithing."

*I tried dreaming about the jigsaw, but it kept waking me up.