BIOGRAPHY
Defined by its imagination, creativity, and emphasis on fantasy characters, the body of Jasper’s illustration is a combination of digital and traditional media. After her brother introduced her to the massive multiplayer online role playing game, World of Warcraft, in 2006, Jasper’s inspiration to paint and draw from the fantasy realm exploded. Although she had always had a fascination for elemental beings since a very young age, her obsession with creating mythical characters can be easily traced back to these early memories. However, her love for creating art started much much earlier.
“I've loved making art ever since I was a little girl. I can remember all the way back to a parent teacher conference in kingerdarden where my teacher brought out a large, detailed crayon drawing of a girl and tiger. She said, ‘Your daughter is showing an exemplary talent for art.’ Those words have stayed with me all the way through life like a spell. At that point I didn’t know I had a gift, so I feel sentimental, warm, and driven every time I remember the feeling of that moment.”
Spending years practicing her craft, Jasper attended many schools and classes such as Milton Hershey’s School of Art, Pennsylvania Governor School for the Art, and later graduated Valedictorian from Digital Media Arts College in Boca Raton, Florida after achieving many other artist awards in both high school and college.
Jasper worked as a 3D production/motion graphics artist for two years at the Triscari Group in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania before starting a career in tattoo artistry. After apprenticing, she worked at several professional tattoo shops before she decided to strike out on her own. At the beginning of 2015, she opened up a private tattoo boutique in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, Gypsy Moon Custom Tattoo & Illustration. Then with her future fiancé in 2016, they together founded the folk band, Sweet Maple Singers, in which she sang, played the harp, and illustrated all of the band’s promotional media. In the span of ten years, Jasper’s artwork has been published in magazines, three album covers, multiple promotional posters, billboards, and on a book cover for both private and corporate clients.
“I worked very happily as a tattoo artist for about four years with clients coming from all over multiple states and even overseas for before the tragedy of my life happened. In 2017, I was diagnosed with multiple chronic illness symptoms and conditions which included fibromyalgia, chronic tendinitis throughout my arms and fingers, a pseudo-tumor cerebri, and many many other serious health complications. I continued to tattoo and make music with my band for as long as I could, but my body eventually gave up completely. I was physically unable to create art or music, let alone write or type for a very long time after that. It was all very traumatic.”
Four years from her initial health crisis, Jasper continues to make slow improvements in her fight to regain her health and her ability to be a full time artist. No longer able to tattoo, she now concentrates on her careers as an illustrator, singer, and small business owner.
“It takes incredibly longer for me to create and finish a piece with the limitations of the chronic joint pain and tendinitis, some days I can’t even draw at all since things get flared up so easily… but even though my abilities are very much more limited then they were before, my heart cries for me to be an artist, so I will continue fighting to do what I love.”