1. Questions in Letter Form

Matt asked: When do you know you are “done” with a project? for example your art exhibition. Do you have a number in mind? or just “feel” it?

As the vision of Love, Grief & the Human Condition was continuing to take shape, I was already creating pieces that would later become the beginning details of the “Love” room. “I love You’s” and secret, sometimes subtle messages sewn into place, I generally had a feeling of a pieces completion. You’ll notice that some pieces have color or shapes spread around, like a story. Sometimes the story is layered and you have to find the balance through the variety of brushstrokes and textures, but over the years I’ve learned to paint all over in order to maintain a sense of balance and composition. If I find that I am wrestling with uncertainty I have a few artists who I will ask for advice from that tend to help lead me in the right direction. Sometimes they help me find my own voice in those pieces that I’ve lost myself in. Sometimes I need to walk away from it to discover if it needs more paint, more time, or simply more space. Ultimately the work tends to speak for itself, sometimes it’s loud, or obvious, sometimes it’s quiet and completely frustrating, but I have to be willing to patiently listen and find out.

January 2025 is when I first brought this concept to Colleen at Creative 360 and at the time I didn’t really know how many pieces I would create for this solo show. In early spring I toured the gallery, finding inspiration from other shows in the space and finding that I had to consider (and be open) creating at least 30 new pieces. As I gave this project space, the vision began to grow and adapt, the realization of possibilities felt to flow endlessly. I apprenticed in set design and the connections made to creative and “willing to help” humans made the fresh concepts feel tangible. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and funding I had to really decide on what was important for this show, let go of concepts that weren’t complete connections and focus on what I could do with what I had. In July of 2025 it became clear that I would also need to incorporate work from previous shows in order to fill the foyer, hallway and 3 gallery rooms. Although this was not apart of my initial vision for the show, I believe the journey of how I reached this concept is important. That point specifically is pretty abstract in it’s presentation, but the Foyer and a few pieces sprinkled throughout the gallery give a timeline of how these themes and this work has shaped me over the years.

All in all I am happy with how far this work has come, where it landed, and down to the dry time of the final piece of the show, I believe that I generally “feel” when work is “done,” but I have also learned, that nothing is ever set in stone, paintings can be repainted, stories and themes can be rediscovered in a growing perspective, and everything can be “undone” to become rooted in purpose.

Keep growing my friend. Breathe. You are worthy of the life you dream of.

I love you.

-Jazzmyn Benitez