About Jessica
As a child, Jessica remembers lying awake at night, thoughts whirling, unable to understand how human beings could act so differently from one another. How could one human being perform stunning acts of selflessness and another, with 99.9% of the same DNA, commit atrocities? It seemed an impossible puzzle. Jessica grew to study psychology, ultimately earning a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Syracuse University. This provided some clues to how to understand her questions, but she became convinced that more needed to be done to provide alternatives to the relentlessly negative and cynical perspectives found so frequently in the mainstream. It was not enough to say that dwelling in a kinder mental, social and cultural space was possible; experiencing the caring was much more meaningful. She became convinced that the powers of awe, wonder and mystery are key to creating this new world.
Jessica’s art captures her audience’s minds and imaginations, opening them to their inherent potential for greater compassion, empathy and connection. With her background in clinical psychology, passion for neuroplasticity and unwavering belief that humanity can and must do better, Jessica weaves mysterious and colorful landscapes and stories infused with what she calls the “broth of kindness,” providing participants with rich and embodied experiences of care and love without conditions, strings or expectations attached. She believes the landscape of benevolence offers a rich, fulfilling and complex subject for artistic exploration, one that has not been given its due.
Kindness is Jessica’s medium, her passion and her goal.
Core Principle
The core principle of Jessica’s work is MettaCognition;
Metta: Lovingkindness and goodwill towards all
AS WELL AS
Meta: Self-referential, recursive
MettaCognition: The practice of showing kindness, compassion and universal love to others, with the active intention of shaping cognition to reflect these emotional states and ultimately alter perception and behavior.
MettaCognition uses the brain’s ability to constantly alter its schemas and cognitions via neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt based on what it is exposed to during day-to-day living. The brain is constantly reinforcing or extinguishing associations based upon the information it receives and attends to, meaning that our perceptions are ever-changing. Over time, with consistent exposure and attention to kindness and opportunities for positive connections, our brains are literally rewired to reflect a more compassionate reality. To this end, Jessica’s work immerses her audience’s minds in awe, wonder, compassion and kindness.
