Biography
Jill Leary is the owner and founder of Railyard Arts Studio. I wanted to create a studio where students and artists would love to work–a place where they felt comfortable, inspired and relaxed. A place to create with others who are looking to express their creativity through all types of artwork and enjoy a collaborative and supportive atmosphere. Railyard Arts Studio has classes in pottery, art classes for adults and children, and studio membership.
Jill is a practicing artist and a New York State certified arts education teacher. She holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, with a concentration in Ceramics, and a Bachelor’s of Art Education from Syracuse University, as well as a Master’s of Fine Arts. For 11 years, Jill worked as an elementary art teacher for the Brewster Central School District. She also inspired students after school through the district’s Enrichment Creative Arts Program, which hosted exhibitions of students’ work at the Katonah Museum of Art.
After leaving the school system, Jill focused her creativity on charity work and fundraising. Seven years ago she developed a successful charity fundraiser “Crafts for a Cure.” This fun-filled “carnival” of art projects for kids raised more than $100,000 for childhood cancer research and Jill has been honored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for her incredible work. Jill also created “Healing Hugs Happy Hearts,” a non-profit program that collects more than 1,000 handmade Valentine’s for hospital patients. The cards are made by local schools and workshops and handed out to nearby hospitals on Valentine’s Day. This program has been duplicated by other cities and school districts to great success. For five years, Jill also volunteered as the chairperson and designer of Mahopac’s Fulmar Road Elementary School yearbook, where she utilized both her art and organizational skills.
Jill is a skilled artist who enjoys working along side of other creative people in a variety of media. She loves to knit and crochet, paint with waterbased oil and watercolor, and is a accomplished ceramicist. Currently, she is showing her work in our local community.
Artist Statement
I always found it a form of meditation; to draw, create and design with line, shape, color and texture.
As an artist who was born without a right hand, wheel throwing was one of the many challenges I craved to conquer throughout my artistic life. The draw of pottery for me was the process of making a cylinder, a vase, a bowl and other functional shapes and forms that became art with a practical purpose. The constant discipline, along with the consistent practice of the skill to become a better artist, continues to drive my desire to overcome my original challenge.
Additionally, I have always loved creating surface pattern designs and find the artistic freedom that comes with creating repetitious patterns to be an introspective process. Creating images based on line, shape, color and texture to express qualities of movement and rhythm have become an increasing component of my artwork.
In my latest work I have begun to combine both my attention on creating functional art together with the more aesthetically focused aspect of patterns and designs bringing this meditative aspect of patterning into my pottery.
