Jessie Lawson
Every piece of art Jessie creates, regardless of the medium in which she’s working, represents a special, slightly weird world, inhabited by hybrid human/animal creatures that are generally having a good time. That’s the place that her imagination inhabits, and it’s the source of all her inspiration.
Some of her creatures show up in large canvases. Others appear in mixed-media pieces or collages, some of which are very small. (Using collage techniques, Jessie produced a full deck of cards: fifty-two plus two jokers.) Others pop out of their frame to become doll-like creatures, made from fabric, paperclay, and any other material that comes to hand.
This is unabashedly playful art: Jessie does what she does for the joy of it. She enjoys borrowing from the art of the past, playing with different period styles–from medieval manuscript illumination to early modern art painting–and with an array of familiar scenes, images, and symbols. At the same time, she is always trying to open a window into her own personal visionary space, hoping that it gives pleasure to others, as well.
Along with the fun, Jessie considers doing art to be an important social activity. We test the quality of our own social reality against the better worlds we’re capable of imagining. Even these crazy little animal-people can help us learn how to live more happily, more humanely, and more wisely.
DARE Minneapolis 