The Reboli Center for Art and History is proud to feature Christie Jones as our Emerging Artist Spotlight for the months of September and October 2025.
A passionate environmentalist and innovative painter, Jones creates stunning, meditative works that marry artistic expression with climate consciousness. Based in Patchogue-Medford, she uses sustainably sourced, non-toxic paints made from earth and mineral pigments—many of which she creates herself—as part of a deeply rooted commitment to ecological stewardship.
Currently the Caumsett Artist-in-Residence, Jones is producing a body of work that captures the colors and textures of Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve, using handmade paints derived from materials sourced within the park (pending collection permissions), as well as other natural pigments she regularly uses in her practice. Her goal during the residency is to visually archive the park’s natural palette, fostering deeper public connection to the land through a harmonious blend of color, texture, and place-based storytelling.
Jones’s artistic journey is shaped by personal experiences that echo throughout her work. The daughter of a shellfisherman, she grew up witnessing firsthand the effects of over-clamming, red tides, and water pollution on Long Island. These early encounters with environmental fragility deeply inform her art, as do her experiences with wildfires during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic while living in California.
Her studio practice includes a unique oyster shell recycling initiative, where she repurposes discarded oyster shells from local restaurants to create vessels for her handmade watercolors. For every paint color sold, Jones donates and plants an oyster in local waters, a remarkable project that has led to the planting of over 2,500 oysters, each helping to filter and restore marine ecosystems.
Jones has exhibited widely across Long Island and beyond, with recent showings at Guild Hall, Gallery North, MOCA LI, and The Other Art Fair in Brooklyn. In 2024, she was awarded The Nature Conservancy’s Andy Warhol Visual Arts Grant. After returning to college following a 14-year break, she graduated from Suffolk County Community College with highest distinction in Spring 2025, and is currently completing her B.A. in Studio Art: Sculpture & Ceramics at Stony Brook University.
We invite you to discover the work of this thoughtful and inspiring emerging artist in our Design Shop throughout September and October 2025.