Genny's Jam Art Blog
Welcome to my blog.
This week I invite you to check out my latest piece as I explore SURREALISM…
GRIPPED - 4’ x 2’, mixed media on cradled board
First off, a huge shoutout to all those who work actively in surrealism.
This was a real challenge for me - how do you take emotion and illogical thoughts, and turn them into something coherent? THAT’S MY ART. And wow, it was hard.
According to the internet (because where else?), Surrealism is a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that aimed to unlock the creative potential of the unconscious mind - often through the irrational juxtaposition of images.
Think SALVADOR DALÍ’S Persistence of Memory.
A timeless exploration of how past, present, and future blur together. His work is fascinating, I encourage you to take a moment and revisit.
My piece, GRIPPED, shares no connection nor was it influenced by Dalí’s, but I did try to capture the surreal nature of thoughts and emotions that come from grief and trauma. Hidden throughout the folds of our brains are beautiful parts - ready to come out and play. The emotional juxtaposition requires balance, and an inner strength.
Gallery Description:
“As I dip my toe into surrealism and explore the mind’s eye - a space where we visualize, imagine, and remember - I weave past, present, and future seamlessly together.
We can be gripped in many ways: by fear, anxiety, insecurity, excitement, awe… and grief - the most powerful of all.
Rather than deny these feelings or allow them to overpower us, we can seek BALANCE and make way for LIGHT and ENERGY.”
Written along the bottom of GRIPPED:
“In my mind’s eye, I am gripped with longing…”
This phrase expresses intense yearning - built from vivid memories, imagined possibilities, and the emotional weight that colours everything: past, present, and future.
Imagery & Symbolism
Each image in GRIPPED represents a different part of our emotional anatomy:
- Butterflies and knots: from the gut connection - anxiety, instinct, change
- The eye: FIGHT or FLIGHT
- The rose: speaks to the intuitive, creative RIGHT SIDE of the brain
- The inverted triangle: reflects the analytical LEFT SIDE
THE ENTIRE PIECE TELLS A STORY.
My Brain Map
Before and during the process, I worked from a brain map - a visual guide I created to help figure out how to represent different regions and connections in the brain. It helped me keep one foot in imagination and one in intention.
On Working With Cradled Board
Compared to canvas, working on cradled board is… YUMMY. So different!
The way the paint sits, the texture, the absorption - it’s interesting territory.
At one point I even brought out my SANDER to smooth out areas.
SO FUN. SO FREEING.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
I hope you enjoyed this peek into the surreal - and that maybe it stirred something in you.
Until next time…
Let’s stay curious. Let’s stay open. Let’s keep exploring.
With gratitude,
GENEVIEVE
How Do I Even Begin Assembling a Website—Let Alone Start Writing a Blog?
For me, it’s like taking the entire contents of my house—kitchen cupboards, my closet filled with gems and shoes, the shed full of gardening tools and bikes, my garden, the garage packed with sports equipment, my art supplies, and all the memories and emotions that linger—and organizing it all into categorized and labeled groups.
How do you label memories and emotions?
Because THAT IS MY ART.
Fortunately, this Vancouver-based web platform made it easier for me—and I had a little help from my friends.
So, It Begins...
Welcome to GENNY’S JAM ART BLOG, my brand for everything.
GENNY’S JAM was the name I gave to a couple of cannabis plants which I grew out of curiosity for my sons, before weed became legal. I felt like such a rebel! I dutifully rolled the plants around the backyard in an old RED RACER wagon so they could soak up as much sun as possible.
Attentive to outcome—THAT’S MY ART.
Music and Memory in My Work
When I reflect on each piece in my gallery, I feel the deep emotion of the moment that inspired it. Often, that inspiration comes from music:
-
EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN - inspired by listening to PINK FLOYD’S ECLIPSE at the start of the pandemic
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ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE - drawn from THE BEATLES’ track of the same name
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YOUR OWN PERSONAL JESUS - based on DEPECHE MODE’S song (though I do love JOHNNY CASH’S version)
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LILYPADS, RAINDROPS, SOFT WINDS AND ROSES - a tribute to and inspired by no other than GORDON LIGHTFOOT'S PUSSYWILLOWS, CAT-TAILS
Pieces such as IT’S ALL ABOUT CHARLEY, DOUG NEVER LEFT ROSE’S SIDE, and my IN THE PINK series are more personal—and make my BATTERED HEART SWELL.
My Artistic Style
I lean on BOLD COLOURS, a reflection of my strength and courage, and I choose titles carefully—sometimes they come to me quite profoundly.
I am forever CURIOUS in my work and never hesitate to try new things.
Let’s Connect
Your thoughts, input, suggestions, and comments are welcomed and encouraged. I hope to make this blog an inspiration to fellow artists—because sometimes, we all need a little help from our friends.
Finding clear headspace in which to create is not always available to us.
Thank You
To all the ESTEEMED VISITORS to my website: THANK YOU for checking it out.
May you find INSPIRATION here—or perhaps a moment of REFLECTION stirred by EMOTION. I encourage you to be CURIOUS and PRESENT whenever possible, because that is when we take the time to stop and smell the roses.