JKay Borland is on an adventure and she is on the edge of her seat. It began at the age of 7 when, in the second grade, a blob of clay was placed on her desk. “I was mesmerized by it,” she said, “I wanted to create more. A light went on.”

She often wonders whether, if she hadn’t been exposed to art as a child, would she be an artist now? Whatever the consensus, she is happy creating. “All I can say is, when the light goes on, either you choose to keep it on or you look for another source of light. For me, the light went on at the age of 7 and never went out,” she said, “I thank my mother for supplying me with art materials for so many years during my youth.”

Borland grew up in New England, where she eventually married and had two sons. She practiced art on the side while focusing on day-to-day tasks. She picked up a camera and began her own photography business at the age of 26, starting with team sports and moving on to weddings. “I was quiet most of my life. Having a photography business, I had to be in control and I had to sell myself. It became successful and gave me a lot of confidence. College added another boost to my confidence.”

At 39, she began studying art at Rhode Island Community College. Her husband was offered a job in Spokane and they moved in 1997. Borland finished obtaining her degree in fine art at Whitworth and got a job at her husband’s place of employment. Three years ago, Borland took a leap and made the decision to quit in order to create art full-time.

“As an embarking artist into the unknown, I was filled with doubt,” Borland said, “I had to shed my skin and emerge and I guess it’s an ongoing process of shedding.” Her fear abated when the public received her work well. She has shown in half a dozen venues including an annual private studio show in Medical Lake and an outdoor market in Latah Creek. She has done commissions and is pleased with the sales of her work. “These buyers make me want to continue and evolve all the more.”

She produces her work in a large basement studio in her home in the Eagle Ridge area. Using mostly acrylic paints on canvas, Borland has quite a range of styles – from her re-creations of old architecture, landscapes and frolicking blackbirds to her surreal and quirky scenes including “Overachiever,” which shows an ant carrying the planet Earth on its back, and “Outcast,” a scene of figurative blobs that should in no way be alive but somehow are, if only in Borland’s mind, a place she said holds unlimited possibilities.

While her work gives the impression of a fine-tuned and experienced artist, her goal is to continue to learn and master her craft. “Every painting is a new challenge. You don’t grow unless you challenge yourself.”

Borland is up to the challenge. “Ahead lays the rest of my life and I want to give my imagination the time it deserves. I want to accept any challenge in regards to subject matter and continue the exploration. I have many things to be thankful for in my life and I’m so happy to have this time in my life to unleash my mind on canvas. Ahead also lays the mystery. I’m so on the edge of my seat.”