For as long as I can remember, art has been a constant in my life, permeating and underpinning all of my moments. The muse, ever-present, as both a beacon of light and the shadow it casts. My work as an artist has offered me insight, courage, strength and resilience when I otherwise might have collapsed under the weight of circumstance. Art, to me, is a life-preserver; a great healer; a place to grow roots and wings simultaneously. Art is home wherever I may be.

Through my creative work, I am able to participate in the universal conversation with the Cosmos. Paintings become translators as a luminescent framework appears inside of the canvas, igniting the picture plane with imagery before one drop of paint lands on its surface. Doodles become messengers, carrying branches of a sacred compass meant to guide the psyche along the pathway of understanding. Ceramic vessels and sculptures become artifacts of the matters of life, durable and frail, depending on the gravity of time. Because my work comes through me intuitively and without preconception, it can often take me years to better understand what the images and forms convey. I find this state of wonder as captivating as is the process of bringing about its being.  

On my windowsill, I keep a tiny vessel made by a little potter wasp. A place to hold and protect budding life, a place of instinctual love, a place of refuge, a womb of sorts; a vast reminder of the generative gift of creativity. My artwork is my offering to you, fellow sojourner, in hopes of fortifying you, inspiring you, and soothing your soul through the gaze. 

After completing the Foundations program at the Kansas City Art Institute, Jennifer went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. JPurling’s work is displayed in many private collections throughout the United States. Jennifer resides in Prairie Village, KS where she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and engages as often as possible in her love of ballet, classic film, music, literature, and the culinary arts. More of JPurling’s work can be viewed at jpurlingfineart.com