About

About Jess

Jess Self recently completed her M.F.A at Georgia State University and is a recipient of the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award and was a 2022 Hudgens Prize nominee. She primarily makes figurative sculptures and loves to incorporate textiles, mysticism, and cultural content. Much of her early work, made completely of needle-felted wool, touched on themes of trauma and abuse; this work has been exhibited multiple times and has received positive reviews in several publications such as, Create Magazine, Fiber Art Now, and Emergency Index. How we build emotional bonds with each other is one of her central concerns. In addition to making exhibition work, she enjoys teaching workshops and participating in craft shows.

Artist Statement 2022

My recent work is comprised of figurative sculptures made from my own life casts, embedded with or covered in wax, wool, wood, or mixed textiles. I am inspired by archetypes such as stereotyped versions of femininity: in folklore, mythology, western classical art as well as in spiritual practices. For example, in Buddhist practices, chakras are a way to illustrate growth and highlight what areas of life can be improved on, these have their own characteristics and Archetypes. Carl Jung believed Archetypes are embedded in our brains, we collectively and unconsciously experience similar things, creating a bond. Usually, a character is required to make a change or choose a path in order to learn more about themselves, as we do, changing from one archetype to another. I make an emotional connection with the viewer by creating figures based on my own life story as it relates to archetypes I have embodied. These figures encourage relate-ability, and personal reflection on our personal growth.