***Interview
B I S H O P + Jennifer Stuart are teaming up.
*
The beauty of her art is a reflection of who she is as a woman, wife, and mom. So excited to be carrying a few of her pieces at the shop.
*
Just in time for Mother's Day, I was able to interview her, please read below as she talks art, life, and this past year.
*
Each month, B I S H O P supports a nonprofit or community organization.
*
To honor all the mama's out there, we wanted Jennifer to select our very first nonprofit to support.
*
For the month of May,
Jennifer selected La Casa de Madres.
La Casa de Madres responds to calls for help from domestic violence victims 24/7/365.
Giving survivors the tools to transform their lives including emergency shelter.
So happy to be connected.
In her own words:
I’m a visual artist and art educator. I studied painting at RISD. One of the ways I think about art is that it is a way to explore the mysteries of our existence.
I live in SF with my architect husband and my son who loves architecture. We live in a small house filled with big ideas. We are an insanely quiet family. We are makers and ponderers.
As a painter, I have always looked to nature and the cosmos as my inspiration. I tend to read a lot (both fiction and non-fiction) and my interests usually send me down deep rabbit holes. That said, I have many favorite artists who bring me happiness and spark my creative mind. Off the cuff, some of these artists are Julie Mehretu, Terry WInters, Cornelia Parker, Ana Mendieta, and Martin Puryear. When I am overwhelmed with the state of myself or the universe, my go to solutions are 1) Read a chapter from The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 2) Blasting Aretha Franklin and dancing around my studio (which in itself is hilarious because my space is small and I am not:)
I spend A LOT of time in my studio (have I mentioned it is very small?:). That means that I am always surrounded by my work, which puts me in dialogue with it in a deeper way. That’s the plus side...I’ve made a lot of work and I feel like the intensity of the world and the quiet in my life allow for some of the deepest exploration I have ever done.
My best days are any day I get outside with my family or when I see my sisters, my parents, or my friends. One sister calls me the Forest Gump of Covid...I walk a lot.
My worst day was a day that I was hating everyone and everything (OK, maybe I’m talking about more than one day). I got in my car and thought about driving right out of the state. Then I realized that Covid had me trapped. It was super depressing. But, I spent some time screaming on the top of my lungs as I was driving, and when I got back to the house I was better.
I definitely get overwhelmed and full of despair more often. I worry a lot. Maybe those aren’t new feelings, but they are magnified by this experience. I also feel really lucky to be an artist during this time.
Intuition is super important in my art. The first layer of my work is usually random mark making - I let the ink or paint generally do what it wants to on a wet paper. Then, after that dries, I have a kind of conversation with what’s on the page. I have general ideas about what I want in the paintings...I might even have some references that I am working with, but I trust the process, and don’t really get tied to a plan. I am pretty much the same in my life, which works most of the time.
THANK YOU JENNIFER.
Follow her @jenniferstuartart
As a painter, I have always looked to nature and the cosmos as my inspiration.
Follow B I S H O P @welcometobishop
S H O P
Comments