What Happens in Cocoa Beach...

probably involves some leathery locals and amazing alligator souvenirs

I’m back home from 8 days in Cocoa Beach, Florida with a buncha cool new tanlines and some serious inspiration. I flew out to set up a Hurley art wall at the Ron Jon Beach and Boards Fest, (an amateur surf competition) and had the pleasure of painting with some truly incredible artists.


While I was there, I got to paint with Stink from Costa Mesa—who taught me about a million apps I need to get on my phone if I ever hope to keep up with the kids. (above: Stink/Jennie/Shaun collaboration inspired by aggressive wind at the beach)


Shaun Thurston from Jacksonville, FL (above: Shaun is crazy with a can…and I am regular with a brush. GO TEAM!)

and INOPE, based out of Savannah, GA, pictured below as the grand master of spray cans. Shaun and Inope were some of the fastest, bravest painters I have ever seen. It was a serious treat meeting them and working with them on this project!

I hope to find good and lucrative excuses to get both of them out to California to share their art!

SPRING BREAK!

Kind of? I'm heading out to Cocoa Beach, Florida on Monday to paint at the Hurley Art Wall for the Ron Jon Beach & Boards Fest! I'll be out there painting on the beach from the 6th-10th. If you're in Florida...come say hi!



Joining me on the wall are some killer artists you may already be in love with (if not, go check 'em out!) the adorable and prolific STINK will be painting on the 6th and 7th. Florida's very own Shaun Thurston will be killing it on the 7th and 8th, and INOPE is closing it out on the 9th and 10th.



Lastly: do get down to Laguna Beach on Saturday to peep This Wilde Abyss. There's some fantastic work from some super cool ladies on display!

Double Whammy at AR4T this Saturday!

Just for you, this Saturday I will be using all of my creative talents in one convenient location:
AR4T, for the opening reception of Splendor Device’s newest group exhibition THIS WILDE ABYSS.

Check out this fantastic flyer with art by Jennifer James. Splendor Device is an all-female art collective headed by Kelly Castillo. THIS WILDE ABYSS will feature work from some of my personal favorites: Sara Haase, Jel Ena, Allison Peairs, Elizabeth Caffey, Kristi Bockrath, Amy Kaplan….I could go on, read the flyer. All of those ladies are dripping with talent. It’s gonna be good, you guys.

The fabulous musician/artist Sara M Lyons and I are performing at the opening reception as Library Sciences. This will be the first-ever live Library Sciences show and we’ll be practicing all week. Our illustrated audio zines will be for sale at the reception as well. (In case you love it.)

I’ve got a NEW piece in the show that is borne of my watching and rewatching Carl Sagan’s COSMOS over the past several weeks.
It’s called Cosmology, and it is inspired by the existence of parallel universes.
Charcoal and acrylic on wood with glitter and light fixture. Yes I said glitter. It is all over my house forever. Sometimes you make sacrifices for art.

I posted one photo of this and have had a rash of people freaking out about this representing duplicity or mutation. I would first like to say: RELAX. It's okay if art makes you uncomfortable, but I also don't think this deserves to be labeled "disturbing." The figure is meant to be reflected as well as connected--referencing the possibility of another us in another universe, amidst infinite other universes and possibilities. At the center, I tried to visualize the creation of worlds, with a swirling movement to echo the shape of many galaxies. The figure is reflected again in a pool of stars, to imply again that these universes are infinite.

Boom. Artist statement.
SEE YOU SATURDAY!

This Wilde Abyss opens Saturday, March 2, 2013 from 6-9pm
Artists Republic For Tomorrow (AR4T)
210 N. Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA
92651

LA Zine Fest and a Bunch of Crap

Thank you, LA Zine Fest for showing us a kick ass time, again. I hope everybody who came out had as much fun as we did. Library Sciences made some dough and had some laughs and enjoyed our corner filled with very good friends like Corrie Walton and Diana Danielis, David Chien and Yumi Sakugawa; The boys of Cheese Eggs & Potatoes: Steven Pillai, Chris Lim, and Spenser Garden, Kelsey Short and Harry Diaz.

My fellow scientist, Sara M Lyons, cleaned UP with her original art. Go check her out and spend some money here.

Last week JOSHR and I finished our fifth mural of 2013, over in Hurley’s Retail offices. This is a record. At least for us. We’re on fire. And we’re gonna mural all over you, so stay out of our way.

I feel like the Powerpuff Girls

(When I look at that first picture.)

There's a little sidebar in the February issue of Rivera Magazine... Go getcherself a copy:
Incredible superwoman Chantal deFelice talks with Kelsi Maree about the Orange County art scene.(and looks like a model in the photo, PS). In discussing our emerging art community, Chantal lists 3 fellow artists whose work she admires….and it’s me and my pretty BFFs Yevgeniya Mikhailik and Nancy Chiu!!! I’m dying. It’s so cool. I love these ladies so much. (Nancy just opened up an awesome Etsy shop, go here to check it out!)

Ohhhh Chantal. You are such a bad ass. Malcolm Gladwell pointed out that something like 5% of people are responsible for 100% of the action, and I couldn’t agree more. If you ask me who's pulling a lot of the weight in the Orange County art community, I would list Chantal, Torrey Cook of AR4T and OCAR, Kelly Castillo from Rothick Art Haus and Dr. Sketchy’s OC, Amy Kaplan from F+, and Yevgeniya’s work with Grand Central Art Center. Meet these women. Check out their work. Give them a high five and thank them for making things happen.

Also,
At work, for my real job…at Hurley, JOSHR and I finished our FOURTH mural of 2013 (this one is ours, the other 3 were Daleks) for our friends in the Finance Department. Here it is. Thanks to Derek Bahn for the photo!

Dear 2013,

You are pretty rad so far. I did almost nothing for nearly a month….except put out a record. If you wanna see that click here. I’m gearing up for a few group shows opening in March. Here are some process shots of a piece I’m working on for This Wilde Abyss. The 3D element is meant to be a swirling vortex of creation. I’m sure that’s coming across EXACTLY as planned…

This Wilde Abyss is a Splendor Device group show opening at AR4T in Laguna Beach Saturday, March 3. More to come on this and other projects soon. Love, Jennie

Wedding Cakes

Ohai, there's this thing that I do that some people have asked about: I make customized wedding cake toppers. So far, everybody has wanted a mini version of themselves. I will ask you to send me your favorite photos and pics of what you'll be wearing and any relevant color swatches or reference images (are we including your tattoos? Will you be zombies? or in formal wear?) and I make you out of paper clay. Here is the most recent cake-topper for my friends Wes and Erica:

If you would like something like this for yourself or a friend, email me! To cover costs of time and materials they are $200-$300 depending on the design and the size.