My Inspiring Weekend with Jessica Zoob

I had the pleasure of being invited by my dear friend Jessica Zoob to a private preview of her new work ‘Inspired by Asia’ at her studio in East Sussex.  I didn’t hesitate to say yes as I have visited before a couple of years ago and had the most wonderful weekend, who cares that I live at the other end of the country.  To get to spend time surrounded by art work like Jessica’s in a room filled with talented, creative women is something you don’t turn down.  You can’t put a price on days like these, my only wish was that I could have spent even more time talking to each and everyone of the women that were part of this gathering.  I deem myself a very lucky girl to be part of a bigger circle, one where we support and cherish each other even though we don’t see each other in person very often.

Jessica gave the most empowering speech as we arrived, her words filled with such beauty and emotion, I just wish everyone could understand and be educated by them in our current times.

“So wonderful to be in a space full of so many amazing creative women! Thank you all so much for being here today. I really appreciate your support and encouragement!

For those of you who don’t know me yet I just wanted to introduce myself and explain a little bit about what I am trying to achieve here.

I suppose I feel more and more that creativity is a gift and that I have been incredibly blessed to be able to spend my life following my dreams. I think I am at a more thoughtful stage in my life and feeling the need to clarify my position and intentions. I would like to find ways to share my work and to inspire others to keep making good decisions.

I think that we live in troubled times and that now more than ever we need to look toward the light. To celebrate and help each other. To encourage and to keep the faith that there is always sunshine after the rain.

I think the world needs more female energy. To embrace a passion for protection and nurturing rather than power and destruction.

I also believe humans need beauty and hope and that true art can transcend time and distance and that if we look carefully we will find inspiration everywhere.

I think if we find like-minded souls and work together with integrity and passion we can achieve miracles.”

You always get a sense of Jessica’s raw emotions through her work, she has spent the last few winters travelling through Asia and setting up a studio in Hong Kong.  Her experiences in Asia are immersive and overwhelming, the juxtaposition of heat soaked chaos and the rare oases of calm are endlessly inspiring, making this body of work a distillation and reflection of her time spent there.   The beauty of life in Asia, the textures, details, decay and jewel like corners all come to life in the paintings.  The colour palette is punchy with flashes of neon and deep fuchsia pinks, deeper tones that reflect the environment of such a vibrant country.

What is also refreshing about this collection is Jessica has produced pieces on a smaller scale again.  Her large installations are something to behold but alas not many of us can have one in our home, but with the ‘Inspired by Asia’ collection we can and boy am I saving my pennies so I can own one, one day.

Jessica’s studio is open this weekend, all are welcome, so if you are in East Sussex and are at a loose end then why not visit, such a wonderful way to spend a warm September weekend.

‘INSPIRED BY ASIA’ OPEN STUDIO
Original miniatures from £700, Limited edition prints from £69

21 & 22 September 2019 (12pm ~ 6pm)

Banff Farm, Upper Clayhill, East Sussex, BN8 5RR

I travelled down to Lewes for the whole weekend, so I also had a bit of spare time to visit some of my favourite shops in town.  Lewes is a treasure trove of beautiful homeware stores and bakeries, I would be seriously bankrupt if I lived there!  Alongside a bit of retail therapy I was able to spend a lovely evening with a wonderful friend, I just wish we didn’t live so far away from each other on a daily basis, so we could do this more often.  I know social media can get a lot of bad press but if it weren’t for platforms like instagram I wouldn’t have made the trip to East Sussex to spend time with these amazing women that I truly call friends.  Like Jessica said if we find like minded souls and work together with integrity and passion we can achieve miracles.