Embracing female empowerment in the outdoors, one line drawing at a time

By Elouise Paabo

This story first appeared in the March 2021issue of the Revelstoke Mountaineer magazine. Read the e-edition here:

 Many artists find inspiration in the natural world, but very few go as deep into nature as Jessa Gilbert. Experiential landscape artist, Jessa Gilbert, finds herself on intense exhibitions into Rogers Pass and the immense backcountry around Revelstoke to truly capture the magnificence of the wilderness. “I love the practice of trying to articulate how it feels to be within these grand landscapes, and hopefully offer art to everyone,” she explains.

Artist Jessa Gilbert works in many formats, from large murals to
intricate line drawings. Photos: contributed.

Jessa grew up in New York state in a hectic household with three brothers. She used art as a creative escape from that wild, noisy place. She learned how to snowboard from her older brothers who were obsessed with the terrain park and often found herself in some tricky situations. “You find yourself on the surgeon’s table enough times, and they say you’ll never snowboard again, let alone run again.” After several surgeries, Jessa didn’t take no for an answer and started splitboarding as part of her physical therapy. One day she packed a pen and paper with her. “I filled my gear with my sketchbook and art supplies as a way to handicap myself back to the ground, I thought maybe I wouldn’t jump off anything if my pack was super heavy.”

After moving to B.C in 2013 and applying for her permanent residency, Jessa realized that art and adventuring didn’t have to exist in two separate worlds. “Time felt fleeting, so I wanted to make sure I was really present. Words and photos never seemed to capture the real awe and magic of spending time outside, so I started these drawings as attempts to capture the sentiments of my adventures within nature, sleeping on the ground, and out of service.”

Jessa captures her experience in the backcountry through the use of a single, continuous line which helps her practice patience and gratitude in the moment, “I bring those drawings back to the studio and reflect upon what the colors were, how the wind felt, how cold it was on my face and what the sun felt like on my skin. All of these things you don’t necessarily get in a photo. That’s what I like about abstract art, it’s not about documenting the landscape exactly how it looked, it’s about documenting the feeling of being there.”

Breaking down the barriers for women in the backcountry

Artist Jessa Gilbert works in many formats, from large murals to
intricate line drawings. Photos: contributed.

As with many people who call Revelstoke home, Jessa loves everything about being immersed in the mountains. Yet, Gilbert admits it’s been a long journey for women to get involved. “One thing that inspires me to continue with guiding and to progress in the mountains, is to show girls and kids that females belong there. When I was snowboarding as a kid, all my role-models were guys. I was competing in rail-jams that didn’t even have a women’s category, it was like we didn’t exist.”

She found the same issue when she started touring and felt out of place amongst the boys-club, “I found it difficult to feel strong enough or fast enough. I was often embarrassed to ask questions and doubted my decision-making. I would have loved female mentorship, especially in the early days.”

A snowcat mural project by Jessa Gilbert. Image: Contributed by Jessa Gilbert

Jessa wanted to break down the barriers for women in the backcountry and became a mentor with Ascent Mentorship, a women’s backcountry program here in Revelstoke. Jessa combines her years of experience splitboarding with her single-line drawings to prove that together, women are more than capable of achieving their wildest dreams amongst the highest of summits. “It’d be awfully lonely to get to the top, look around, and realize you’re all by yourself. Therefore, we must lift others while we rise ourselves. We are better together,” she said.

A subject-matter to inspire conservation

Jessa aspires for her artwork to start conversations about the fragility of the planet and the importance of protecting it. “Being able to document how the earth looks now is incredibly important to further tell the story of how special it is, and perhaps get people engaged in protecting it,” she said. The purpose behind Jessa’s line-drawings is to inspire people to get outdoors and experience the adventure of the wilderness themselves. “My theory, is that the experience of spending time outside within nature is grand enough to inspire people to protect these places,” she said. “I love this land, I love the feeling of spending time in nature and I hope to never see these places disappear. I am optimistic other people are curious about this sentiment. My artwork is for them.”

Starting adventures from anywhere

Artist Jessa Gilbert works in many formats, from large murals to
intricate line drawings. Photos: contributed.

Jessa believes that the wildest of adventures can start from the smallest of actions. “This whole change in my art practice started with just being curious about what would happen if I bought a sketchbook on a hike. It’s completely changed the way I share my affection for landscape and adventure. It’s completely changed who I am as a human being. This whole experience has allowed me to communicate through the visual form of a rad day in the backcountry.”

Jessa’s artwork was recently displayed at the Modern Bakeshop Café in downtown Revelstoke. Looking ahead, the artist is excited to be holding a solo exhibition at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre in September.

Her artwork can be viewed online at  www.jessagilbert.com or on Instagram at @jessagilbert. Alternatively, she can always be found on the lookout for her next adventure, whether it’s in the studio or out in the wild backcountry.