Jill Gramer

Project Onward has given Jill Gramer (b. 1963) a vehicle with which to share her positive messages with the world. Her life experiences serve as the motivation for her work; urging observers to say no to drugs, say no to alcohol, and to engage in activities that inspire joy. She chose roller skating as one of the options she presents to her viewers because, naturally, “who doesn’t like to roller skate?”

Jill was a street performer for many years. She is a master juggler with tremendous stage presence. She is a former member of the Triton Troupers Circus.

Jill’s colored pencil palette gravitates toward lighter hues with subtle shading, which she begins after drawing a relatively light outline of her chosen figures in ink. Her public-service-announcement-style drawings always include some amount of text in line or block form. When discussing her work, Jill shares, “I make pictures I want to stroll in. I want them [viewers] to think.”