Jessica Sheehan Smith

~ artist statement



           My work is an exploration in the synthesis between the physical and the ethereal. I am drawn to moments of both stillness as well as those of great energy—and seek to become a part of them as I create. 

Combining the processes of Printmaking & Painting allows me greater flexibility in how each piece is developed.  The creative process of some paintings can be very physical, while others are very delicate.   I use the term “painting” in this way as spearing holes into the dark fabric of our ‘accepted’ existence, stepping through the divide of the known.  My art is a vehicle for such discovery; each mark exists as a map of my journey directing me towards my next voyage, pulling back another veil, moving closer to the truth.

As I create, I search myself—what do I seek, desire, need? As I strive to touch the unknown--to connect with something outside myself, I have found that painting touches the deep, the primitive--the  true parts of Soul.

 

This body of work is comprised of the whispered memories from my Virginia childhood… cool, grey evenings watching nature’s transitory beings shift into the quiet blue of night.

~ jss. 2012