CURRENT EXHIBIt

Holding Space, Borrowing Time (dirty dishes and dust bunnies)
Monoprints and Casein Paintings by Jessica Poland

RECEPTION Saturday, February 8, 4–6pm

Jessica Poland’s monoprint drawings and casein paintings play with color and light, and pay a quiet homage to nature’s geometric simplicity. The exhibit title highlights that her art practice is a product of juggling a career and family life, and embracing a certain amount of chaos (i.e. dust bunnies) in balancing the sacred and mundane in daily life.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“For most of human history, the vast majority of people have made their art in stolen moments, using scraps of borrowed time…”

These words from Elizabeth Gilbert have blazed my creative pathway for the past several years. As a full-time working mother who pieces together bits of time for my own artmaking practice, it gives me comfort to know that people for thousands of years have found time to create a little beauty amidst the dramas of their daily lives, in spite of unfinished chores or unfulfilled obligations. This recognition inspires me to do the same in my busy life where it is all too easy to say there isn’t time for art. The pieces here are the results of many stolen moments—dirty dishes left in the sink, laundry left unfolded, and time stolen away from loved ones. It is important to me to name this and literally hold space for the fact that the things and people we love most in life sometimes require equal sacrifice in order to find balance with all that matters. I strive to accept the imperfection in all of my identities as artist, mother, partner, and career-person. To hold space for artmaking is to hold sacred time and to give something back to myself.

Nature is my primary muse, and I work to create art that gives me the same sense of curiosity, respite, and spark that I feel when I’m in the wilderness. Often it is the smallest wonders in nature that inspire me the most: crystal frost on a branch, leaves catching light in the wind, or subtle color differences of river rocks. I’m drawn to simple geometric forms for their sense of peace and equilibrium. Birds are also often a central theme, carrying significance for me in their ability to bridge the land and sky—the fixed and the infinite.

I work back-and-forth between monoprinting and painting. Trace monoprinting is a process by which I draw or press into a piece of paper lying on an inked plate. The images and lines revealed when I lift the paper from the ink are somewhat accidental and mimic the randomness of nature’s patterns. Casein is a milk-based paint with roots dating back 9000 years, and its luminous colors and hard/soft plaster-like qualities allow me to explore my fascination with color, light, and texture.

Jessica Poland is a Durham-based painter, printmaker, wife, and mother and spends her weekdays working as office manager for the American Civil Liberties Union Capital Punishment Project. Jessica received her BFA from Guilford College, and has pursued further education through workshops at Penland School of Crafts, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Pocosin Center of the Arts, and the Schweinfurth Art Center. Jessica was a 2024 winter resident at Penland and she has exhibited her work regionally in juried gallery exhibitions and invitationals. This exhibit at Horse and Buggy Press is her first solo show.

Exhibit runs through February 28

Below please see some other works that can be found in the gallery, and can be purchased at the click of a button.
We always have new works rotating in to complement the main exhibit, and the gallery is a fun resource when you need just the right piece for a spot in your home, or a special gift for a loved one.