Rogue Valley artist Jordan Marie McCaw engages in many sides of art, from creating her own digital and traditional prints to her and her husband’s film review and discussion podcast.

A Southern Oregon native, McCaw has been sketching since she could hold a pencil, illustrating dreamscapes and pop-culture characters and her signature “skull buddy” figure.

While the reserved creative has spent most of her artistic life deliberately out of the spotlight, McCaw’s focus this year has been to connect with other art people — in person — through local festivals and events as well as exhibiting her art for the first time.

“This year, I have been getting way more into the public with art, going to Rogue Comic Con, (Southern Oregon) Zine Fest and Meadowlark Comic Con at the end of July,” McCaw said. “It’s always nerve-racking because art is something you create privately, and showing it in public can be scary.”

Part of that public focus was her inaugural art exhibit at Central Art Supply’s gallery in late May and early June.

“I did it with Red Ranter — it was her first one, too — and that was really fun for us and scary because we’d never done a gallery before,” McCaw said.

On what the artist has appreciated about meeting artists and collectors in the region, she noted the many talented artists from all kinds of backgrounds with a variety of skill sets.

“We do have a really great artistic community in the Rogue Valley, and that’s not just painting galleries but also people doing comic books and other types of art,” McCaw said.

She has always had an affinity for cartoons and comics such as “Garfield,” “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Marmaduke.”

“What I want to draw depends on what I want to improve at … I hope to evoke a sense of storytelling and wonder, and sometimes it comes down to how I want to improve on a piece,” she said. “I would say a lot of it comes down to finding new ways to challenge myself.”

McCaw’s parents supported her passion, as well.

“It was always encouraged and always something I’ve described as therapeutic for me,” she said. “My dad, he’d give me a joke and I’d turn it into a cartoon.”

The cartoon, comic-like style influenced McCaw as she continued to develop her own approach to illustrating.

“When I was kid, if I was asked what I wanted to be, it was always a cartoonist,” she said.

After graduating high school, McCaw attended Southern Oregon University for a year before transferring to Eastern Nazarene College in the Greater Boston area.

McCaw earned a bachelor’s degree in arts, writing and journalism and later moved back to the Rogue Valley.

With her writing experience and knowledge of pop culture, McCaw’s creative skills and expertise extend beyond illustration.

“I also write; I’ve had some short stories published in various publications and a couple were published through podcasts,” she said.

McCaw’s published short stories include “Drifting On,” “Looking for Amy” and “What Belief Can and Cannot Do.”

McCaw and husband, Micah McCaw, host a weekly podcast, “The McCaw Podcast Universe,” reviewing and discussing popular films and movie genres.

“We love diving into what makes a franchise good, what makes it bad, and other movies that some people aren’t talking about,” McCaw said.

The podcast reviews a range of films, from recent blockbusters like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to classics such as “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Godfather.”

For 2024, McCaw intends to continue meeting artists and collectors in person while continuing to create her art, short stories and podcast.

“The last event I’m doing is Meadowlark Comic Con, and once it’s over I’ll assess in terms of how the year really went and … see if, financially, is it worth doing again?” she said.

On the personal side, McCaw is also working on illustrating a book for her daughter.

To learn more about McCaw’s works, check out her store and access “The McCaw Podcast Universe,” visit linktr.ee/Jmmccaw.