Who am I?
Hi my name is Jessica, I the artist behind Enigma Jessica and here is my story! My parents met in college as art majors and started selling their pottery at fine art festivals around the country. Growing up I was immersed in the arts and loved it! I played in the slop bucket in our basement studio and even made a few ceramic pieces of my own. When I decided to go to college I knew I wanted a career in the arts, but didn't want to be a starving artist. I decided to major in art education, so that I would have a steady income and be able to make art in my free time. I taught art at a local high school for 7 years and then I got the opportunity to stay at home to raise our daughters and focus on making art. I am so blessed by this opportunity and am excited to see how my work evolves in this season.
The Story behind my artwork:
I grew up in a chaotic environment. My parents divorced when I was in kindergarten and my mother was in abusive relationships with several addictions. When I was in 5th grade I moved in with my dad. Growing up without a consistent relationship with my mother was difficult. When I started college I was going down a bad path that would have lead me down the same path as my mother. My junior year I realized that I needed to stop drinking and partying and focus on my school and future. That's when I really dived into my art. It was my therapy. Since I couldn't control much of what what happening with my family life, I focused on control in my artwork. I call it "organized chaos". My art is about our constant effort to control things in our lives, which in reality we don't have the ultimate control of. After graduating my art took another shift. I learned to be comfortable with not being in control and started to actually embrace and enhance the "mistakes" in my work.
What my artwork is about:
Currently my artwork focuses on the conflict between control and embracing the serendipity within the art process and in life. My artwork is a personal reflection of my desire to control, but ultimately knowing that I am not the one who is in control. My paintings are developed with several layers of acrylic paint that is added and removed from the surface. While working I am very invested in the process. I carefully select colors that will go well together and also communicate a mood. I get lost in the process, carefully dripping, moving, drying, and removing the paint. The whole process of creating, for me, is almost like meditation. The repetition is calming to me.
Where did the name Enigma Jessica come from?
The name Enigma Jessica was developed as I began professionally perusing my passion for painting. The definition of enigma is a puzzle or hidden meaning. My abstract paintings are very meaningful to me. They are an illustration of my life which is constantly changing and growing and is illustrated by the way I carefully create my paintings.