Biography
I am Jessica Leahey, I am a full time, self-taught artist, and freelance illustrator. My working mediums have included painting, illustration, mixed media, and installation.
Much of my inspiration comes from the intersection of contemporary culture and the natural world - and my lifestyle is pivotal to accurately studying and portraying that paradigm.
Having grown up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, its culture is deeply imprinted in my storytelling. My creativity has been inherited from a long line of ‘ideas people’, from painters, to craftsman, to musicians and thankfully, my family is incredibly supportive of creative pursuits. Chasing the snow, I moved west when I was 18 to Banff, Alberta, where I fell in love with mountain town life, and the gritty, passionate, people that choose it. I worked at Sunshine Village where I met my husband, Troy and we relocated to Revelstoke in 2007 when he took on the role of head Avalanche Forecaster for the newly developed Revelstoke Mountain Resort. I am a hairstylist by trade and have done time in every ski bum hustle from entrepreneurship, to housekeeping, to ski coaching, to waitressing, to retail… I have done everything but deliver your pizza.
I found my art practice through injury recovery, and have been on a new, more creative path ever since.
Past and Present Commercial Clients:
Revelstoke Mountain Resort, CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures, Mica Heliskiing, Selkirk Tangiers Heliskiing, Mustang Powder Snowcats, K3 Snowcats, Parks Canada, Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association, Blanket Glacier Chalet, Powder Creek Lodge, SGN Skis Norway, Lifts & Runs, Revelstoke Pool & Spa, Precambrian Trails Inc., Girls Do Ski, Lynch Sisters Productions, Alaska Girls Kick Ass, Pulse Bootfitting, Low Pressure Podcast, Backroads Brewing, Wild Flight Farms, Revelstoke Food Initiative, Apex Raft Guiding, Valhalla Pure Outfitters, Arts Revelstoke, Tourism Revelstoke, Revelstoke Greenbelt Society, Powder Rentals, Flowt Skis and Bikes, Raven Contracting, Nest Grocers, Courthouse Inn, The Crowbar B&B, 5 Peaks Adventures, Riverlife Organics, North Fork Coffee Roasters, Revelstoke Ski Patrol.
Artist Residencies:
2020 Mica Top Sheet Project – Mica Heliskiing. Revelstoke, BC
2019 Art in the Park - Parks Canada, Glacier and Mt Revelstoke National Park, Revelstoke, BC
2018 Girls Do Ski Artist in Residence – Girls do ski and Patagonia Outerwear. Revelstoke, BC
2017 Mica Top Sheet Project – Mica Heliskiing. Revelstoke, BC
Shows:
2024
Revelstoke Visual arts centre. 20th Anniversary members show.
2023
Luna Arts Fest Mentor. Suri Stewardson’s ‘Gitchi Manitou’
R.O.A.M. 23/24 Ski season, Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The Infinity Grove installation. The Gnome Homes installation.
2022
Luna Arts Fest. The Cocoon Installation
R.O.A.M. 22/23 Ski season, Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Zoetrope Installation. The Cocoon Installation. The gnomes installation. Wheely Bad Advice Installation. Masterpiste Gallery contributions.
2021
Luna Arts Fest. Snowpack Slayers, Art alleries legacy piece.
2019
Luna Arts Fest. Peekabooth Installation
2018
Everything Goes. Members show, Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre
Luna Arts Fest. Infinity Forest Installation
Art in the Park. 12-month, Western Canada travelling show, Parks Canada & Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre
2017
Adventure Quencher. 4-artist show, main gallery, Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre
Luna Arts Fest. Zeotrope Installation & Snowglobe Installation
2016
Solo Show. Somewon/Integrated Apparel Revelstoke
The Christmas Shop. Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre