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| (Exhibit No. 215 Detail) |
Jamie M. Speck
"A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people." -Edgar Degas
Some of my earliest and happiest memories involve creating. Whether rummaging through the household “junk drawer” reinventing, or carefully cutting and weaving strips of my school notebook paper into new shapes and forms, I have always found myself with this unexplainable drive to create. This creative urge has carried me throughout my academic career and into the present.
As an avid “Maker-of-Things,” my passion lies in mixed-media. My current mediums of choice are: soft pastel, acrylic, watercolor, found objects, and fibers. Although my formal education involved a specialization in painting and drawing, my focus the last several years has been collage. I love all artistic mediums, and find it too constricting to limit myself to just one. Each medium has a special set of qualities that lend it to play different roles in my artworks; much like various character roles in a dramatic production. I believe that a contrasting variety of materials, along with strategically placed repetitions of textures, colors, and patterns, most often result in a mysterious, yet unified composition.
The many processes of creating are important to me. Using my hands, experiencing the tactile qualities of the media, and interacting with the ebb and flow of design, bring me the greatest joy. My inspiration is just as varied as my medium. It is found and felt in my every day experiences and routines: God, nature, family, reading, news, objects & fabrics…life!
I also experience well-being in the meditative qualities of the needle arts, such as crochet, sewing, and embroidery. While not working on a two-dimensional piece, you will most likely find me crafting with fibers. Currently, I have found satisfaction in incorporating some needle work into my canvas and paper collage surfaces. I never follow someone else’s pattern, because this would trample my creativity and risk individual spontaneity. I feel a personal closeness to my Grandmother passed, as well as my family history, gender, and culture associated with this art form.
When I am truly feeling inspiration, I never stop long enough to sketch. Instead, I handwrite a few notes in my journal, or begin working without a preliminary drawing…I seek the immediacy of my vision, and find it difficult to rest until it comes to fruition. Instead of taking a more direct approach and “spoon feeding” the viewer, I often prefer to use elements of symbolism—like a visual riddle or puzzle. This approach, in my opinion, involves and engages the audience more intellectually, and hopefully, especially in some artworks, adds reason for further exploration of the concept(s).
I try to stay open-minded to the changes and evolution natural to the materials themselves. I work intuitively, and strive to let each process and application dictate the next design decision, while remaining within the broad parameters of my creative vision and message. I feel that the secret to art, just as life, is finding a true balance.
