Breakthrough Moments — How To Catch the New Artists Stepping Into the Spotlight at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival

Editor’s note: This is the next story in a series on The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. Read the story on the first three Emerging Artists here.

Every artist remembers the first time they show their work. For six lucky artists, that moment will happen at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. The upcoming 21st annual art extravaganza, set for this Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12, will highlight the work of 200 artists overall.

Many are experienced festival participants. The festival also makes room for new voices through its Emerging Artist category.

The Woodlands Arts Council executive director Jenny Carattini-Wright believes in giving artists that first opportunity. “A healthy arts ecosystem depends on nurturing the next generation,” Carattini-Wright says. “Our goal is to give them a real festival experience so they can learn, connect with collectors and build confidence.”

Let’s meet the final three of the six Emerging Artists who will make their debuts at this year’s Waterway Arts Festival. All the Emerging Artist’ booths will be located near each other in Town Green Park.

Jullie Jones

Booth 203

Jullie Jones began her art journey through drawing. “I did not talk for quite a few years, so drawing became my voice,” she says. “It spoke better than I did.”

At 14, Jones saved enough money to buy an SLR camera. However, she was disappointed when the photos didn’t match what she’d seen.

“I enjoyed looking through the lens. It gave me a better focus on what I wanted to see,” Jones says. “When I got the prints back, I was sad that the camera did not capture the spirit of the image I saw and felt.”

That frustration led her to oil painting. Today, she works as a plein air painter, creating work outdoors in real time, often translating what she sees into more expressive interpretations.

“My art journey is about being in the moment,” Jones says. “I capture the spirit, paint it on site or carry it back to the studio.”

Jen Paschke

Booth 199

Jen Paschke‘s work is rooted in a deep love of the outdoors. She spent years exploring the wooded mountains of northern Pennsylvania, developing an eye for detail and observation.

“I felt peace and joy in the soft sponginess of mosses and leaf litter under my feet,” Paschke tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “I watched and learned to really see the patterns in nature.”

After several moves in and out of Houston, Paschke enrolled at MFAH’s Glassell Studio’s School of Art. She has worked across a wide range of media, styles and subjects. Nature remained a constant thread.

She moved beyond traditional paints, incorporating salvaged and upcycled materials. She expanded into three-dimensional work, creating sculptures in fiber, wood, steel and clay. Paschke now works across multiple spaces, from her home studio and garage to the tools and equipment at Glassell.

Her process draws heavily from materials others might discard. “My most recent works incorporate nearly 100 percent salvaged materials,” Paschke says.

These range from an art quilt framed in steel and driftwood, featuring roseate spoonbills gliding over a Galveston marsh made of jute and scrap fabric, to sculptural works like a cardboard prickly pear cactus and laminated plywood bats suspended from welded steel roosts. She has also designed a wearable coral reef hat using salvaged plastics collected along Galveston beaches.

Jing Zhao

Booth 205

Jing Zhao studied traditional Chinese painting as a child, but she didn’t begin working with watercolor until two years ago. Her work blends elements of traditional Eastern painting, including composition and space, with watercolor techniques, resulting in pieces that feel both structured and fluid.

“Watercolor started as a form of self-healing for me. It was a way to calm my mind and reconnect with myself,” Zhao says. “It gradually became an important creative practice in my life.”

Zhao works as a landscape designer at a civil engineering firm by day, so most of her painting happens at home on weekends.

“I try to complete one painting every week,” she says. “That rhythm helps me stay connected to the practice, even with a busy schedule.”

That busy schedule included Zhao’s first half marathon in The Woodlands in February. “Outside of art, I enjoy running and spending time outdoors with my family,” Zhao says. “Nature is a big source of inspiration and energy for me.”

These artists will make their debut throughout The Woodlands’ most important art weekend along The Woodlands Waterway and in Town Green Park, where art lovers can experience their work up close.

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival takes place this Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12. Tickets are available here in advance and at entrances along the Woodlands Waterway and in Town Green Park the run of the arts fest.