Interviews
JENNA MUSCARELLA
Interview with Art Saint Louis 2021
Click link for full interview:
https://artstlouis.blogspot.com/2021/10/footprint-exhibit-artist-interview_18.html
Award of Excellence recipient for the Art Saint Louis in-Gallery exhibit, “Footprint” (September 25-October 21, 2021): Jenna Muscarella, Alton, IL. “Memory Box of Bullshit.” 2021. Acrylic, Ink on Canvas, 48”x72”. $3,500.
Artist’s statement: “Memories persist with little genuine thought control. I can pretend to block out a memory, but unpalatable experiences are burned into my brain. Of course, time allows that negative footprint in life to seem minuscule; but depending on the scar, it may never fade away. Through this series I explore transcending through those displeasing memories. As much as I want to erase the memories, I still keep relic reminders of the pain.”
Roxanne Phillips: Thick lines, thin lines, or no lines?
Jenna Muscarella: I am obsessed with line. I use a variation of thick, thin, and anything in between. When I was in grade school, I would stare at the cursive alphabet on the wall and draw each curve with my eye. I doodled on my notebook pages with lettering style after lettering style. I took a Chinese Calligraphy course in college, to further my line obsession. I owe much of my evolution of mark making to this course. I carry those sharp character hand-movements and the philosophy of the “initial mark” into my work. Once a mark is made, it is left alone unaltered. Every work I create focuses on organic linework. I love outlining with black line.
RP: How has your art evolved through the years? Describe the different stages of creating?
JM: My artwork has always focused on calligraphic line work, as mentioned. I began painting botanical subjects because I was fascinated with the organic contour lines on flowers. The twists and turns allowed me to make spontaneous, yet controlled marks. I get into a trance making these marks, my natural movement and dance. This has clearly carried into my artwork as an adult. With my beginning-career works, I used the calligraphic approach with the outline of my floral paintings. As I grew as an artist, the marks did as well. I started to dance with line. I let my hand take control of spontaneity and the natural mark in the moment for abstract designs. Now, those calligraphic marks are still used freely as backgrounds and filling the spaces of the objects I paint. For my latest cigar box/memory box series, I am creating works with the contrast of the harsh straight line and the calligraphic marks.
RP: What was it that first prompted your career/activity as an artist?
JM: I have always been involved with art. I took drawing classes at a young age. I was constantly creating, making, doing, exploring. I still am today, this has never stopped. In high school, I actively searched for art opportunities-- studying for a summer at the Art Institute of Chicago, taking on roles as the design editor for various publications, and creating my own works. I studied at the University of Kansas, receiving a bachelors in art education. I focused solely on how I could “make a living” as an artist. After a few years working in the public schools, I naturally became a bit burnt out. I was constantly searching for that enriching art experience. Tossing back and forth about what I could do next with art. I always had the mindset that I must become a professor or something else that would pay the bills. Then in 2018, I was asked to become a studio artist at K SPACE studios in Corpus Christi, TX. This was the moment that shifted my motivation. I saw that I could focus on my own artwork, publicize, and achieve that enriched art experience that I had been searching for. I spent a short amount of time in this space, but it was something that changed my life. I saw through the eyes of other working artists; their techniques, their experiences, the inspiration that comes from the actual space of the studios, and countless advice. I learned so much from being a part of this group. The studios are on the third floor of an old Kress department store building. Once you finally climb up the last stair and open the door to the studios, it is like magic. You can feel the history of all the artists who once worked there. They have something special going on there and I will be forever grateful for being part of the group and having those experiences. In 2019, I moved back to my hometown of Alton, IL. I continued making large works and expanding my artistic drive. I am still searching for another K SPACE experience.
RP: Why do you make art?
JM: I make art because it is a transcending practice. It is my meditation. I get lost in a painting and think about nothing but what naturally happens in that moment. I also make art to release the ideas in my head. I always write down my inspirations or ideas. I have to get that idea onto paper or I feel like I will explode.
Jenna Muscarella. “Clustered. ” 2018. Acrylic, Ink, Particle Board, Carved Wood Frame. 44"x32". $900.
RP: What qualities attract you to other artists’ works?
JM: I am attracted to new ideas. As an art teacher, I study countless works and techniques. I am impressed by the complexities of the mind and releasing it visually. Everyone has their own unique thoughts. I want to see what others come up with-- I want to see something that I have never seen or thought of before. Artists are inventors.
RP: On what are you currently working?
JM: I am continuing my cigar box/memory box series. I collect cigar boxes and keep my tangible memories inside them. There is a lot of pain within this series and I am able to express those feelings onto the canvas through my marks and make the boxes appear as if they are floating. The boxes are placed in a manner as if they are levitating and literally lifting above all of the harsh calligraphic marks. The boxes are graphically transcending through all of the bullshit attached to some of those memories. I am exploring different angles and styles of boxes as well as the calligraphic marks and the connection to the rest of the pieces.
RP: What motivates you to make art?
JM: Art motivates me to make art. I don’t know that I will never not-make art. I could not imagine my life without it. People talk about getting stuck in ruts with inspiration or even making those initial marks. I have never felt this way. Sure, I have artistic idea blocks from time to time, but I have never quit making. It is ingrained in me and my purpose. I do continuously wish I could have more of an artistic environment or artistic people to connect with. My ideas would be ever-flowing more than they are currently.
Illinois-based artist Jenna Muscarella.
Learn more about Jenna Muscarella: http://mementopaintings.com and www.instagram.com/mementopaintings and www.instagram.com/jennamuscarella