The important word here is complex. My gallery work is never simple, involves lots of steps and techniques, and I have feared that an article would consume the entire magazine!
But for this special “family” issue, I have decided to share the piece I recently did as a gift for my mother and to honor her mother.
I have broken the steps into different sections - so you can see how the techniques might be used in any piece of art - and to make things easier to follow. Required materials for each procedure are listed on the appropriate pages to avoid confusion. Though the end result is a finished piece which incorporates all of these parts, consider each section on its own for possibilities you might explore in any project.
©2003 Jessica Wesolek, Santa Fe, NM
All of my work begins with an idea and a goal - a set of parameters that define the details of the piece, and this one was no different. It began with a surprising discovery.
Grace Manning Schneider was my maternal grandmother and a person I adored. She was happy and fun-loving and as sweet as you can imagine. She was also feisty and adventurous in a day when women were not. But, always, there was an innocence - a deeply held belief that things were good, and all was well with the world. She used to sing a lot.
It was thought for years that my grandmother’s wedding portrait was lost. But, then one day, when my mother was visiting a relative’s home, there it was! On the wall. She quickly borrowed it and had copies made for all of us.
When I first saw this picture, I was moved to tears. Never had I seen such a perfect portrait of “innocence”. Those eyes! I decided right away the picture was much too special for an ordinary frame, and started creating the piece that was to become “Grace and Innocence”. I wasn’t sure exactly what I would do, but I knew I wanted to honor her in many ways.
I wanted to surround her with beauty because she loved beautiful things, to pay tribute to the long and graceful life she lived, and most of all, to celebrate her incredible innocence and happiness - which nothing ever was able to diminish.
I am very pleased with the way things turned out, and I’m sure that she is as well.
