About Jessie
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I paint because I was raised surrounded by a creative and arty family who always supported my artistic talent and ambition.
I began primarily using encaustics because I was captivated by its ancient history and was challenged by its process of heating and cooling which captures the dynamic of chaos and demands control unlike that of any other painting medium.
The process of encaustic demands a confident hand as well as a hand that can allow the spontaneity of the flow of the wax. This balance of discipline and disconformities are reflected in my work as well as my life.
My drive is to make art, teach workshops, protect the pollinators, and help support a vibrant art community in Central WI.
My first year of college, I stumbled across the book about ancient funeral portraits that were painted with beeswax titled “The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt” by Euphrosyne Doxiadis. I became fascinated by the history and process of encaustic and have dedicated myself to working with ancient paint medium for the past 21 years.
In 2004 I received a research grant from UWSP to teach myself how to paint with molten pigmented beeswax. I graduated with a BFA in Studio Art with a painting emphasis in 2006. I didn’t get into graduate school, so I began exhibiting at art festivals and continue to do so.
I began teaching encaustic in 2019, and opened my teaching studio, Buzz in Art Studios, in 2022. I host encaustic workshops monthly and offer custom workshops and private lessons.
I am an art event planner. I have been the Council Chair for the Stevens Point Festival of the Arts since 2015, on the steering committee for the Hidden Studios Art Tour in Central WI since 2019 and joined Gallery Q Artists Cooperative in Stevens Point in 2024.
My personal art studio is located in Stevens Point, WI. My teaching studio is located in Arnott.
My personal studio is not open to the public. My teaching studio, Buzz in Art Studios in Arnott, is open to the public by appointment only or can be seen during the Hidden Studios Art Tour Oct 3-5th, 2025.
