About Jill O’Reilly
 

Jill O’Reilly is a self-taught artist born and raised in S. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. She graduated from Algonquin College in Ottawa with a Legal Assistant Diploma, and for many years she worked in the St. John’s legal community, eventually running her own Title Searching company. Jill explored many creative outlets before finding her true passion - Mosaics. She travelled to Ravenna, Italy, in 2007, to study under acclaimed mosaic art restorer, Luciana Notturni. Under Luciana’s supervision Jill learned to design and craft mosaics in the ancient Byzantine style and to cut marble and stone with classic tools. However, the main focus of her recent work has been creating decorative glass mosaic panels using a glass-on-glass method. Each panel consists of the combination of many varieties of glass (antique, cathedral, iridized, opaque) as well as scrap glass, millefiori and other materials. Pieces are individually cut and combined to form unique works of art.

Jill is a member of The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador and VANL-CARFAC. She has been the recipient of serveral awards including a 2018 Arts and Letters Award, and a 2019 Award for Interpretation of Provincial History (NL). Jill has participated in several exhibitions across Canada and held her first solo exhibition in 2021. Her work forms a part of the City of St. John’s Civic Collection, Provincial Art Bank Collection (The Rooms, St. John’s), and private collections in Canada and the USA.

Jill and her husband are avid sailors and much of the subject matter for her creations are inspired by her sailing adventures. She splits her time between her native Newfoundland and Labrador and Martin’s River, Nova Scotia.