Chambers, Jill Ellen

Jill Ellen Chambers started collecting ornaments at the age of 4 one windy summer day as she was riding her bike down the sidewalk in Northern Michigan. A tall blue-haired lady waved her over, smiled, and handed her a small red box filled with a dozen delicately painted china bells. To this day they have a special tree all of their own. Halloween has always been Jill's favorite holiday. She loves homemade Halloween costumes and decorating. Halloween decorating is for her the Best of the Best.

After graduating with a B.F.A. from Michigan State University, Jill started a graphic design business in West Michigan and eventually took up children’s book illustration. While she never stopped collecting and making ornaments, it wasn’t until 2012 that she officially became a full-time ornament designer.

Halloween offers a limitless mix of visual potential. Jill adores old cemeteries and abandoned houses, traveling to faraway places, and books such as Peter Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Greek mythology, and old European fairy tales. Some of her greatest inspiration comes from just sitting outside, cradling a cup of coffee and becoming immersed with the changing world all around her.

Wood is Jill's canvas. Each ornament begins as a simple thumbnail sketch on paper. After she works through the complexities of the illustration, Jill scans it into her computer and creates an illustrator file. She chooses the wood for each piece before it’s cut, especially paying attention to the wood grain. Each ornament belongs to its own limited edition. I paint the ornaments with watercolors and occasionally add other materials such as gold leaf, wire, egg shell or moss. Each Limited Edition piece is signed and numbered, 1-60. Jill typically creates 12-18 new, signed and numbered, Limited Addition ornaments each year.

In addition to her website, a limited selection of Jill's Halloween ornaments may currently be purchased through (West Michigan's) Tucks of Saugatuck and Fort Wayne Museum of Arts' Paradigm Gallery as well as the Bewitching Peddlers of Art show.

Facebook: Chambers Artisan Metal & Wood, LLC

Instagram: @chambersartisan