Emily Jensen is a self-taught artist. Well, unless you count Bob Ross videos as a teacher. A few years ago, after receiving a painting kit from a friend, she tried a Bob Ross painting tutorial and was pleasantly surprised by the results. An interest in art blossomed and then burned as Emily honed her talent. Now, she is excited to share that with the public in a fun way this weekend at the Northern Fort Playhouse.
Emily is a recent graduate of Britton-Hecla high school. She had transferred from Langford Area before her junior year. Her parents are Sara and Grant Jensen.
Emily says that after she successfully emulated the Bob Ross landscape painting, she began to try other things. She started to work with better paints including acrylics, oils, oil pastels and ventured out into different mediums including collage work.
Though she is mostly self-taught, she enjoyed taking a sculpture class her junior year and a drawing class during her senior year. Besides Bob Ross, her inspirations include Monet, dadaism and her very own mother. She may have started copying Bob Ross but now she says she mostly creates art from her own imagination.
Emily explains that as she worked at it, art became not only a hobby for her but a therapeutic experience. “My art helps me deal with anxiety,” she said. “When I discovered I had a gift for it, it became a stress reliever.”
Over the years, she has found small ways to share her talent. While a student at Langford Area, she was asked to contribute some works to the music boosters’ fundraiser which were sold in an auction. She donated her art to other fundraising efforts over the years as well.
At Britton-Hecla, her canvas grew exponentially when she started working on scene backdrops for school plays. Her theater work caught the eye of Britton Community Theater organizers Tom Farber and Pam Lunzman. When they asked her to help with set work for the Fort Sisseton melodrama, Emily was happy to oblige. The theater work continued when Lunzman, who also works with the Northern Fort Playhouse, again asked Emily to do some background art for their productions.
Yet Lunzman could see that Emily’s talents were quite varied and not limited to painting theater flats. She would go on to ask Emily to be a featured artist at the Fort Playhouse. Emily was ecstatic to be asked and happy to agree.
“I was very excited,” emphasized Emily. “Not only to showcase my artwork but also to meet the public.” She will share paintings on a variety of mediums, collages as well as drawings and sketches. She adds that some of these items will be for sale.
As she looks into the future, Emily hopes that art will continue to be a big part of her life. She plans to attend Northern State University this fall and major in Art History and Business. She anticipates a career that includes art in some form.
Northern Fort Playhouse performances run through this weekend in the South Barracks of Fort Sisseton. Emily’s art will be on display during Friday’s reception before the performance. Other featured artists in the last couple of weeks included Libby Hendricks and Meghan Ward. Visit northern.edu/northernfort- playhouse for more information.
Emily Jensen sits in front of backdrops she painted for the Fort Sisseton melodramas earlier this summer. Emily is a self-taught artist but proficient to the point that she was asked to be a featured artist at the Northern Fort Playhouse.
