jessica wildman katz

Lately I’ve been pulling teeth, mashing berries, and crawling into yard waste bags. It’s a spiritual journey, my life and my art, and they are completely intertwined.

I might become enraptured by the heavy metaphor of a humble zipper while sewing one onto my daughter’s Halloween costume; connecting/disconnecting, two becoming one/one becoming two, or find myself entranced by her purple pokeberry stained hands; vibrant, beautiful, yet fleeting and uncontainable. I might engage with the flitting shadows of tiny aster flowers while weeding the garden; Aster, from the Latin ‘a star’, emitter of light so untouchable, yet held in my hand. In the throes of living, I’m guided by the quiet poetry all around us. Looking closely, listening, I discover intimacy, duality, and lean into it. Bonds reveal themselves with blinding light, and I find kinship. Everything is transformed. Everything is connected. These are themes in my work, and through it, I too am changed, and woven in. 

I’m interested in making magic out of the things in my life. I believe we are all spiritual creatures in physical form and that the material world that surrounds us, no matter how seemingly trivial, has a spirit that wants to play. It’s a matter of finding the game, letting it happen, and having fun playing.

At heart, I love the spark of an idea, however fragile or small. It tickles in my belly, wanting to grow into a larger flame, asking to have life blown into it. The less I judge it the more fun it is, the more alive and special and cool it winds up becoming. Crafting with my hands and inviting others in is an elevating and grounding practice, and I love the surprise and discovery of living and making art this way, it makes me feel like a human being and not a statistic.