Kickstarter

I have been accepted into an artist residency program (La Fragua) in rural Spain to spend some intensive time on my latest series of encaustic paintings. I will be starting from a set a bare-bones sketches and from there will allow the setting of Spain to influence the final paintings. 

Constructing a home can be a physical endeavor with nails and wood but it can also be an emotional endeavor using memory and experience to construct a place to rest one’s soul. My work is centered around images of both attempting to find a place in this world to call home and learning to be satisfied with who I am and build a home inside myself. My use of mixed media encaustic is a process of layering and constructing in a way that builds the physical pieces along with the imagery.

The imagery of home and houses represents a sense of self - when the home is in danger, the self is in danger; when the home is strong, the self is strong. The idea of safety and building a safe home are present as I find the places in my life where I can fully realize hope and dreams. I often feel like life tosses me about, the world is falling to pieces, and everyone wants me to feel no hope, so some of my paintings reflect this. Slowly I am learning how to build a life and a way of being that acknowledges the struggles but also binds me to faith and hope in order to build a safe home. My work reflects both these thoughts and experiences. 

As I become more engaged in my painting I am looking to utilize the space provided by a residency to continue and more fully realize my series of paintings on home and self, working through the sketches and imagery I have accumulated and not yet painted. Concentrating on finally committing these paintings to paper is my residency project.

The residency provides me with studio space, insurance, housing and a show at the end of my time there. The residency costs $900 for the month. I will also need to pay for airfare, in-country travel, food, and art supplies. I estimate my total costs to be around $2500, so any money raised beyond my goal of $2000 will be used!

Thank you for reading about my project. Stay up-to-date on http://www.jessgreenestudio.com/blog/