Artist Biography

Jessika Kearns was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she still lives with her husband, child, and cats. 

She grew up in a multi-generational, multi-racial household full of artwork, ranging from old photographs, to scenes inspired by classical literature, to Southeast Alaskan paintings and carvings. At an early age, she realized the power of visual art to communicate stories, across time and cultural boundaries - without the limitations of a shared language. Though a common cultural heritage can certainly enhance symbolism and meaning within an artwork, the wordless arts - such as visual art and instrumental music - have always spoken volumes to her through their immense power to speak to the experiences of their audience without having to utter a word. Art struck Jessika as a window through which one could communicate deeply with others. And how that moment can be of service to a community when words seem lost.

Beginning university studies in fine art, with a focus on sculpture and drawing, Jessika was recognized among professors and classmates for effectively communicating emotion and abstract concepts through her artwork - praise which encouraged her. She hoped what she said through her artwork could be heard in a way meaningful to a diverse audience. She eventually received a BA in Art History - a result of her fascination with the storytelling power of the arts and the question of why cultures all over the world, since time immemorial, have been driven to create.

Ultimately, studying Art History was intended to inform Kearns's future artwork by providing her opportunities to understand art more and to be surrounded by it every day. After working briefly in a gallery and starting her family, Jessika returned to fine art as an outlet, a form of autonomy, and a way of communicating emotions that were at times difficult to voice. Inspired by nature, storytelling, and the tying together of  traditional and contemporary concepts, Jessika's work is always imbued with bits of her soul and a search for connection beyond the seeming differences that are drawn between us.