About Me
Hi! I’m Jodie Redrup, lovely to meet you. Thank you for coming to take an interest in the artist behind Jazzle_Craft!
I am an Isle of Wight based pet portrait artist and run a little island bakery with my family.
My 6 top loves are my husband, my family, coffee, animals, swimming and art!
I’m an Artist.
No surprise there, huh? It is an Artist website after all… but it makes up a big part of what makes me ‘me’.
From my earliest memories, I have always been enamored with creating and experimenting with various mediums. Whether it was textiles, pen and paper, photography, clay, or anything else, I relished in trying new things and seeing what I could bring to life. Luckily, I had a twin who shared the same passion for creativity, and together, we let our imaginations take us to strange and wonderful places. One of my fondest creative memories from childhood was when my twin sister and I decided to construct a two-person horse costume entirely out of cardboard. I, unfortunately, have no photographic evidence so you will have to take me at my word when I tell you that our horse costume was a stroke of constructive genius from two determined eight-year-olds! We proudly wore it for several days over the course of a couple of months before our parents convinced us to let it go.
As I grew older, I continued to pursue my passion for creativity. I studied Art and Design for my GCSEs and A levels, and later specialized in Art and Design as part of my teaching degree. I achieved a First Class (BA Hons) in Primary Teaching (3-7 years) and went on to teach 7-8 year-olds in a primary school setting for three years before returning to work with my family in our family-run bakery on the island.
I used to primarily paint with watercolor and acrylic, but my teaching years left me little time to do this due to the demands of the job. The time required for set up and clean down with painting meant that I often didn’t attempt it. That's when I turned my attention to digital painting, allowing me to follow much of the same process but with less of the mess, the joy of an undo button, and just the one pencil..
It was during my time as a teacher that my colleagues encouraged me to sell my art, and in 2017, I set up my first portrait listing on Etsy. Since then, I have been passionately creating digital paintings of animals and people's pets.
I particularly enjoy capturing animals in my work, studying and recreating fur patterns, feathers, and scales, and trying to convey the personalities of beloved pets. My artistic range varies from basic line drawings to hyper-realistic pieces, and I have also recently begun to explore storytelling through comic strips and simple animations.
I have also designed logos and images for independent photographers, animal fosterers and small charity/non-profit organisations that I support.
My favourite being a logo I created for my best friend and keen photographer, Helen Cooke. I designed a detailed logo as pictured and a white outline version that she uses to sign her photography with.
https://www.instagram.com/hccookephotography/?hl=en
SlowSwimming:
My 'little otter eating cake' logo is featured on their website and promotional items such as t-shirts, badges, car stickers etc. I am a keen promoter of open water swimming, and I swim in the sea at Seaview Quay Rocks most mornings with a wonderful group of fantastic characters. Stuart at SlowSwimming organises excellent fundraising swim events which encourages people from all over the UK to join in and experience the joys of open water swimming.
http://www.hamiltonsfitness.co.uk/slowswimming.html
Mel's Misfits Creatures Rescue:
My 'Creatures' logo is featured on their socials and promotional products. Mel runs a non-profit Rat Rescue and Pet Sanctuary and does amazing work for the rats and many other creatures she looks after. I used to keep rats as pets myself and they were such a joy to have in my life. My logo was also sported on Mel's jumper in her appearance on CBS for world rat day https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=277047357300284 and GeoBeats Animals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkD2I0QpJY&ab_channel=GeoBeatsAnimals
Randy Racoon Wildlife Rehab:
Randy rescues and rehabilitates Racoons and other wildlife. It all started with a wonderful racoon called Rocket. I painted a portrait of Rocket for Randy and his portrait has since gone on to become well used on promotional products and cards.
I’m a Baker’s Daughter - Grace’s Bakery Ltd
I work with my family to run a small bakery on the Isle of Wight called Grace’s Bakery!
My parents set up the bakery in 1997, when Sarah and I were just 3 years old. Since then myself and my siblings have returned to join the family business one by one. My husband, Jacob, also works with us now too! Working with family is a joyful experience that’s hard to describe. My twin, Sarah, put it so eloquently in her piece included in the Isle of Wight Observer
Sarah Redrup - Vectis View
“My twin sister and I were just three years old when our parents, Ray and Carole, decided to move the family to the Isle of Wight with the goal of starting up a bakery in Ryde. Some of my earliest memories are of pressing out tarts, while standing on top of a flour bucket.”
“The wide-ranging skills of my family continue to amaze me. During the pandemic, just like many small businesses, we had a choice. Either shut down and wait it out – or adapt and muster through. When St Mary’s Hospital asked if we could supply them with sandwiches for their staff and patients, we decided we had an obligation to our community to carry on. After a couple of weeks of very late nights, my brother Daniel built us an on-line shop from scratch. He taught himself how to take product photos on his living room table. Today we still run that home delivery service, a lifeline for many older people in rural areas who struggle to get essential items delivered.”
“Working with your family isn’t always easy, but I feel the experience of problem-solving alongside them in some of our most challenging times has brought us so much closer. With a 10- and 14-year age gap between myself and my older brothers, growing up it often felt like we were from two different generations. But now I get to see them every day and get to know them as adults. We also often joke that my twin sister and I grew up sharing a bedroom and now we share an office!”
Fun Fact:
We had the wonderful Ainsley Harriott come and try one of our Belgian Buns and Isle of Wight Doughnuts! We were featured on Channel 4’s Best of Britain by the Sea.
I’m a Seaview Salties Swimmer.
I swim in the sea most mornings throughout the year and I have the pleasure of swimming with an amazing group of ladies and gentlemen that swim all year round. The group has grown a lot over the last few years but we still swim with some of the original ‘Seaview Salties’, who established the group during lockdown in 2020. These women never cease to amaze me! Even on the darkest and dreariest days they bring light into my life.
Further to challenging myself within my art hobbies, I like to do the same in my swimming also.
In July 2020, I took on the virtual Aspire charity channel swim from October to December, to raise money for the Aspire Charity who provide vital support for people paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury.
I then embarked on swimming the Solent with my husband, Jacob, in July 2021 to raise money for the West Wight Sports & Community Centre.
An original Seaview Salties, Julie (left) and me (right) proudly smiling with Julie’s new painted portrait. I just couldn’t resist painting her shining on a dreary day!