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.
ArtByJPDesigns 