Taking the Pulse with Illustrator Jenna Noordstra

A graduate of the Illustration program at Seneca Polytech, Jenna Noordstra adds another Applied Arts Award to her accolades—making her a three-time Applied Arts Award Winner. Jenna's illustration Flow earned her a Young Blood winner in the 2024 Illustration Awards competition. So, what makes this young, talented illustrator tick?

Can you work us through the specifics of creating this piece? 

Before pursuing a career in illustration, I studied psychology for four years. One concept that I learned about was the flow state. Positive psychology defines flow as being in the zone, an almost euphoric state that people enter when they are fully immersed in an activity such as writing, drawing, or playing music. This concept really interested me, as I have often found myself in this mind state while making art. The idea of being unaware of your surroundings had great potential for some really fun imagery, which is what sparked the idea for my illustration ‘Flow’. It also helped me to sleep easier at night, knowing that my psychology degree wasn’t in complete vain. 

After the initial idea, came the fun part. I began sketching and brainstorming all of the crazy and exaggerated things that may be happening behind the featured character - an artist who is in the flow. My favourite part about illustrating is adding a ton of little details and telling subtle secondary stories. As I began to sketch, more and more ideas popped into my head, and I continued to add and add — from an overflowing sink, to a disturbed beehive outside, to a big jar of cheese balls on the shelf. Once I thought there was enough chaos in the image and I was happy with the composition, I began to refine my lines and add some textures in Procreate. I knew that I wanted this illustration to be a risograph print, so I decided to keep my palette limited to three colours. In terms of lighting, I wanted a spotlight on the main character, so that all of the mayhem was happening in the monochromatic shadows. After playing around for a while with the line work, colours, and lighting, I had my finished illustration! I later brought it into Photoshop to prepare the files, and made risograph prints of it as well. 

Flow, Jenna Noordstra's 2024 Illustration Awards winning illustration

What are you working on professionally? Anything outside of the usual? 

I am in the first year of working professionally as an illustrator, so I'm taking on client work as it comes, while continuing to build up my portfolio. I am currently doing some travelling, and taking advantage of the ability to be a digital nomad with this career. Travelling and constantly being in new places is very inspiring for me. It really gets the juices flowing. I am also continuing to experiment with my style and different mediums. I just spent a week at Art Print Residence in Arenys de Munt, Spain, learning a new form of printmaking. I was taught photo etching on photopolymer plates, as well as chine collé. It was an amazing week of experimenting with a medium that is outside of my usual realm of work. This was my first artist residency, and definitely won’t be my last. 

Scandal, Jenna Noordstra, 2023 Student Awards winning illustration

What inspires you?

I am predominantly inspired by everyday life. I have a pretty vivid imagination, so I often find myself imagining scenarios that could happen in an ordinary situation. My illustrations are usually a reflection of this. It’s amazing the stories you can come up with by just sitting on a bench and people-watching for an hour. I love to depict everyday life, because it’s something that everyone can relate to. There’s something beautiful about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. As I mentioned before, I also find a lot of inspiration while travelling. Being in new places, meeting different people, and immersing myself in foreign cultures, ignites my imagination. I am still finding my inspiration in everyday life while travelling, just not the everyday life that I’m used to. 

Be sure to check out more of this talented illustrators week here:

w: jennanoordstra.com
IG: @jnoordstrart
IN: @jenna-noordstra-3549b2266

We love seeing the everyday life as perceived and illustrated by you Jenna! Congratulations on your wins!