Hope from Within will be available for bidding.
METC Silent Auction
Hope from Within
The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts in NJ will be hosting my “HOPE from Within” piece from October 23, 2021 – February 25, 2022. The 15 works in their show titled “Hope” will be sold during a silent auction at the end of the show. Details to come!
Reflecting over the past year, 2020, I recall the overwhelming feelings of anxiety, confusion and uncertainty that seemed to never end that spring. Hope was a feeling that I, like many others, held onto dearly and discussed a lot. Hope became revered and elevated in a way that I had not felt before. As I thought about how I wanted to portray the message of hope, I knew I wanted to use my passion for collage and color to express my message. My intention was to create a piece that would show the complexities and feelings from the multitudes of different individuals who all live together within our United States. I am showing that although we may each have our own uniqueness, we all still strive to work collectively and operate within a strong framework and system, and thus my gridded pattern was born. The word HOPE is embedded, radiating with warm colors. The word sits within the center of the piece as the feeling of hope sits within so many of us. Hope is not always obvious right away and oftentimes we can feel the opposite, but if we search deep within ourselves, we can realize that hope not only lives within us but is all around us and it is for us to grasp onto and just hope.
This 24×36″ mixed media piece is created from 637 tiny cut pieces of paper and took me about 40+ hours to complete.
Process pictures below.
Raritan Valley YMCA Mural
2019
I had the great pleasure of designing and leading the new mural project for the Raritan Valley YMCA this summer. This design reflects the wide variety of diversity in the community and some of the many activities the YMCA offers. It is 10 x 60 ft and thankfully about 12 volunteers came out to help with the painting on a couple of days. I am so happy with the bright, colorful energy that this mural brings to their building!
Published in ELLE Magazine Italia, September 2019!
I am excited beyond words to have my work represented in such an amazing international magazine. The article, to the best of my translation, is highlighting a fictional book about women who have been empowered with magic to be incredibly strong. My hope is that this piece helps propel the empowerment and autonomy of women everywhere. I am so grateful to ELLE to be included in their publication this month!
This image is for sale as a print on Creative Action Network, framed or unframed and through Tee Public. Direct links are on my homepage.
The Path from Here ~ Show Photos
2019
Here are a few quick pictures from my show at Taproom642. (Unfortunately, I forgot my camera when I hung this show and then again when I went to pick it up, so these aren’t professional, but I wanted to share.)
The Path from Here
The Path from Here was my first solo show and it was fantastic! I had 11 pieces displayed at Taproom 642 at Rogers Ave in Brooklyn. The owner of this unique brewery reached out to me on Instagram and said she has the audience for my work. Excited was an understatement, I was beyond that, mostly because it is so hard as an artist to get your work shown and partly because I wasn’t really looking for this opportunity yet.
Taproom 642 has a rustic chic feel with long, exposed brick walls, a handmade (by the owner) wooden bar and a fabulously dark, wood-grain tile on the floor. My work filled the entire length of the wall from front door to back sofa! The color popped in the dimmed lighting.
The opening reception was crowded and my work was so we’ll received. For me, I make work that I love and that I think speaks to the message I am trying to convey. Having others get it and like it is what I hope for, but being with an audience who gives you all kinds of positive feedback is fantastic! I couldn’t be more grateful to have had this opportunity!!!
“The Path from Here” My Solo Exhibition
It is happening! If you are in the NYC area come see my work in person at Taproom at 642 Rogers Ave, Brooklyn. The show will run February 22 – March 28, 2019 with an Opening Reception on March 2nd 6-9pm. Island to Island Brewery is also hosting a Lager and Jerk Wings event to coincide with my reception! Lager, Wings and ART!!! I am so excited!
Exciting News Coming…
I have a solo show scheduled! It will be my first, and I am so excited and so humbled. Details to come really soon.
Until then…
Edit all photos of my work- I just realized that my settings were all too low resolution for quality printing.
Clean up the edges of my canvases and prep all for hanging. I tend to not worry about that part because I have the next thing I’m excited to start. Word to the wise, CLEAN UP YOUR EDGES AS YOU GO so you don’t have 10 paintings on your to-do list!
I have been working for the last few weeks on a new fabric blended piece. In my head, it is fabulous and finished! In front of me…there is a lot to do!
Figure out how to link my TeePublic and Creative Action Network accounts to this site.
Lots to do.
Summer Work Update
All summer I have been working on my digital illustrations in between the rest of life’s busyness! I am constantly needing to learn more about the program I use, as I want to adjust or create each piece. YouTube has been a huge help! I have also updated all of my fine art photos and added detail pictures.
Summer work
Having just finished the “My Body is Mine” piece, I am excited to start the next design. I have two sketches waiting and some day time to work in! I am constantly thinking about either the next piece or variations of what I am currently doing. Little scrap sketch papers and notes get compiled until I can get to them. Keeping a sketch book close just isn’t always convenient for me!
These next two pieces will be digital images as well. I really enjoy switching between media just to keep things exciting. I spent about 2-3 months painting and collaging the “New Siblings” piece that I needed to do something different!
ArtByJPDesigns 