Jessica C. White
I first met Jessica at her Creative Mornings talk here in Asheville last year. Her talk connected me to her work, which I had seen around town at Horse + Hero and always enjoyed. She creates these amazing and whimsical prints, typically with animals in them, reminiscent of the illustrations found in children’s books.
Her talk also introduced me to a medium called crankies. She would create these long scrolls using printmaking techniques that wove a story. The scrolls were then put into a box that Jessica built with little cranks used to advance the story along. I was amazed.
The wonderful thing about art for me personally is that it offers you an opportunity to see things you might not otherwise find. This could be the painting of a fantastical scene found nowhere in reality, or in this case, a form of storytelling from the past. This simple but elegant little machine that told stories blew my mind.
As I got to know Jessica throughout the film making process, I began to realize that we shared a common interest in storytelling, but from completely different sides of the spectrum. While my exposure to story was grounded in films, Jessica was rooted in books. She read as a kid as a way of escaping the world into stories. The joy of books grew into skills of craft as she learned to make books, and eventually the content to fill those books.
While art and creativity can be many things, it is first and foremost a way of thinking. Throughout her creative journey, Jessica has formed a unique perspective on creativity. She says, “I think of creativity as a different way of activating our brain, and it just makes our brain work in a different way that can then be applied to a lot of different things in life, like problem solving.”
Learn more about Jessica’s story in the full-length film and be sure to check out her work at The Big Crafty, Horse and Hero and Citizen Vinyl here in Asheville. If you love letterpress, printmaking, or unique forms of storytelling, you can’t go wrong.