PRESS
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While a lot of holiday traditions have been upended this year, this one is continuing: the Handmade Holiday Extravaganza 2020, featuring gifts and decorations made by artists from around Napa Valley.
Hosting this show is the Jessel Gallery, which continues to welcome visitors, as it has for 35 years, . Though the gallery, like all businesses, has been experiencing major challenges over the last 10 months, it is still a cheerful haven for pandemic-weary yet safety-conscious holiday shoppers. This year, visitors entering the enormous gallery wear masks and practice social distancing. Online shopping and curbside pickup are also available. “Shopping local and giving heartfelt gifts from local artists is the way to go this year and this is a one-stop shopping place to do just that,” said Pat Stabile, shopping on a Sunday afternoon with her husband, Jerry. |
“Beautiful ornaments for Christmas are very reasonably priced and one-of-a-kind, thoughtful gifts,” she added. “Today was a wonderful shopping trip filled with such a diversity of artwork. Jessel’s new paintings, prints, cards and even beautiful face masks are stunning.”
“Our visit to Jessel Gallery was invigorating,” Jerry Stabile, a retired art instructor, added. “(Jessel Miller’s) new works are colorfully energetic, pairing intuitive abstract style with her decades worth of composition and portraiture.”
Inside the gallery, Miller, dressed in her painting clothes, was setting up a holiday collection that had just arrived from Joan Tsudama.
A table covered with Joan Tsudama’s Christmas ornaments awakens the Christmas spirit.
Rosemarie Kempton photo“When Joan’s things arrive in the gallery, Christmas is here,” Miller said. “She just brings the Christmas spirit.”
A table covered with Tsudama’s ornaments rekindles happy memories of Christmas past – Santas on boxes and vintage tins, snowmen, reindeer, stars, and angels. The table also had gift items such as kitchen towels with messages such as “So Much Wine, So Little Time.”
Many of Tsudama’s ornaments are made of wood such as her gingerbread men and her Santas who hold signs with the word “Believe.” One shopper commented that the small tree on the table decorated with sparkling old-fashioned cabins, reminded her of a childhood visit to her grandma’s house during the holidays.
Joan Tsudama and Jessel Miller collaborated to create this nearly life-size Santa for this year's Holiday Extravaganza.
Rosemarie Kempton photoTsudama has been doing her Christmas shows at Jessel Gallery for 15 years. This year she also collaborated with Miller on creating two impressive large Santas. Miller said, “Joan’s finish work is amazing and her attention to detail hits the mark every time.”
In a phone interview with Tsudama, she talked about the “joy” she finds in creating Christmas ornaments and gifts.
“I don’t do it for the money. I do it for the kudos. Having somebody like what I make feels good,” Tsudama said. “I like to please people.”
She said she is irresistibly drawn to her glitter-strewn workroom whenever she wakes up at three in the morning to work on something that came to her in a dream or sudden inspiration.
Tsudama has already begun working on her Christmas ornaments for next year. On the way home from setting up her collection at Jessel Gallery, she stopped at an estate sale in search of items for upcoming creations. There, she found an old Planters Peanut tin that had been used to hold nails and screws. She bought it, giving the nails and screws to her husband and will add a tree to the old tin for an upcoming decoration.
After moving to Napa 35 years ago Tsudama, who has a background as a florist, began making crafts for shows when she found some free time in her schedule.
“I was a stay-at-home mom because my husband was a fireman with long shifts,” she said. “With my son sleeping a lot I asked myself what I should do with my time.”
A friend suggested making things for a holiday show. Since then, Tsudama has been creating holiday items. She likes to sew so initially she worked with fabrics.
“In those days you’d get your ideas from magazines, books and friends,” Tsudama said. “Now we get ideas from Pinterest – from computers. Sometimes I do demonstrations at Jessel’s but I can’t now because of Covid. They are always fun to do. People like to see how I make things and how much time it takes.”
Now a grandmother who watches her grandchildren for her daughter who is a nurse, Tsudama does about four shows a year and creates all year long.
She strongly believes in recycling and repurposing. By “developing a different way of looking at things” she keeps items from going into the dump.
“There’s a purpose for everything,” Tsudama said. “There’s a second life for everything.”
Tsudama tries to add something vintage to each piece she makes, whether it is from old baby shoes or vintage music sheets.
The wooden decorations in her collections are all “leftover wood,” taken from a fence that fell down in the 2014 earthquake. Tsudama is reusing this wood by making something from it each year since the quake. She also uses a lot of kitchen things that she finds at thrift stores and estate sales.
Tsudama is not the only artist to bring Christmas into the gallery for “Handmade Holiday Extravaganza 2020.”
Among the other items for sale include:
— Kate Canon’s beaded holiday ornaments and fused glass fish spoon rests.
— Marcia Garcia’s “Common Threads” handmade baskets
— Watercolor artist Diane Pope’s animals and flowers in prints and on birch wood prints, checkbook covers, card cases, pillboxes, glass plates and owl posts.
— Joy West’s hand-dyed silk and rayon scarves that can also be used as table runners.
— Patti Wessman’s glass art that includes antique Moroccan lanterns, Sea Fans and plates.
— Susan Shew’s mixed media mobiles
— Larry Youdell’s wooden boxes, with their artistic work inside, which make lovely jewelry boxes.
A Little Positivity
Because she believes everyone “could use a little more positivity this year,” Miller is offering a number of affordable items with reproductions of her artwork. “Jessel’s Jewels,” petite original paintings, are also low-priced for original work.
Though some of Miller’s paintings, such as her original “Face of Truth,” is priced at $10,000, a print of the same painting costs only $32. In addition to prints, she has made her paintings available on products such as masks, cards, puzzles, coffee mugs, stationery, lifestyle bags, home décor and apparel.
This year, in addition to the holiday collections from local artists, the gallery also has several outstanding Christmas collections assembled by art collectors, such as artist Fran Nielsen’s whimsical collectibles from her mother’s estate.
And as her own gift, Miller is giving anyone who spends $100 at the gallery this holiday season a complimentary set of “Jessel’s Mustard Trilogy,” a $50 value.
Jessel Gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1017 Atlas Peak Road, Napa. For more information, visit Jesselmiller.com or Jesselgallery.com, or call 707- 257-2350.
“Our visit to Jessel Gallery was invigorating,” Jerry Stabile, a retired art instructor, added. “(Jessel Miller’s) new works are colorfully energetic, pairing intuitive abstract style with her decades worth of composition and portraiture.”
Inside the gallery, Miller, dressed in her painting clothes, was setting up a holiday collection that had just arrived from Joan Tsudama.
A table covered with Joan Tsudama’s Christmas ornaments awakens the Christmas spirit.
Rosemarie Kempton photo“When Joan’s things arrive in the gallery, Christmas is here,” Miller said. “She just brings the Christmas spirit.”
A table covered with Tsudama’s ornaments rekindles happy memories of Christmas past – Santas on boxes and vintage tins, snowmen, reindeer, stars, and angels. The table also had gift items such as kitchen towels with messages such as “So Much Wine, So Little Time.”
Many of Tsudama’s ornaments are made of wood such as her gingerbread men and her Santas who hold signs with the word “Believe.” One shopper commented that the small tree on the table decorated with sparkling old-fashioned cabins, reminded her of a childhood visit to her grandma’s house during the holidays.
Joan Tsudama and Jessel Miller collaborated to create this nearly life-size Santa for this year's Holiday Extravaganza.
Rosemarie Kempton photoTsudama has been doing her Christmas shows at Jessel Gallery for 15 years. This year she also collaborated with Miller on creating two impressive large Santas. Miller said, “Joan’s finish work is amazing and her attention to detail hits the mark every time.”
In a phone interview with Tsudama, she talked about the “joy” she finds in creating Christmas ornaments and gifts.
“I don’t do it for the money. I do it for the kudos. Having somebody like what I make feels good,” Tsudama said. “I like to please people.”
She said she is irresistibly drawn to her glitter-strewn workroom whenever she wakes up at three in the morning to work on something that came to her in a dream or sudden inspiration.
Tsudama has already begun working on her Christmas ornaments for next year. On the way home from setting up her collection at Jessel Gallery, she stopped at an estate sale in search of items for upcoming creations. There, she found an old Planters Peanut tin that had been used to hold nails and screws. She bought it, giving the nails and screws to her husband and will add a tree to the old tin for an upcoming decoration.
After moving to Napa 35 years ago Tsudama, who has a background as a florist, began making crafts for shows when she found some free time in her schedule.
“I was a stay-at-home mom because my husband was a fireman with long shifts,” she said. “With my son sleeping a lot I asked myself what I should do with my time.”
A friend suggested making things for a holiday show. Since then, Tsudama has been creating holiday items. She likes to sew so initially she worked with fabrics.
“In those days you’d get your ideas from magazines, books and friends,” Tsudama said. “Now we get ideas from Pinterest – from computers. Sometimes I do demonstrations at Jessel’s but I can’t now because of Covid. They are always fun to do. People like to see how I make things and how much time it takes.”
Now a grandmother who watches her grandchildren for her daughter who is a nurse, Tsudama does about four shows a year and creates all year long.
She strongly believes in recycling and repurposing. By “developing a different way of looking at things” she keeps items from going into the dump.
“There’s a purpose for everything,” Tsudama said. “There’s a second life for everything.”
Tsudama tries to add something vintage to each piece she makes, whether it is from old baby shoes or vintage music sheets.
The wooden decorations in her collections are all “leftover wood,” taken from a fence that fell down in the 2014 earthquake. Tsudama is reusing this wood by making something from it each year since the quake. She also uses a lot of kitchen things that she finds at thrift stores and estate sales.
Tsudama is not the only artist to bring Christmas into the gallery for “Handmade Holiday Extravaganza 2020.”
Among the other items for sale include:
— Kate Canon’s beaded holiday ornaments and fused glass fish spoon rests.
— Marcia Garcia’s “Common Threads” handmade baskets
— Watercolor artist Diane Pope’s animals and flowers in prints and on birch wood prints, checkbook covers, card cases, pillboxes, glass plates and owl posts.
— Joy West’s hand-dyed silk and rayon scarves that can also be used as table runners.
— Patti Wessman’s glass art that includes antique Moroccan lanterns, Sea Fans and plates.
— Susan Shew’s mixed media mobiles
— Larry Youdell’s wooden boxes, with their artistic work inside, which make lovely jewelry boxes.
A Little Positivity
Because she believes everyone “could use a little more positivity this year,” Miller is offering a number of affordable items with reproductions of her artwork. “Jessel’s Jewels,” petite original paintings, are also low-priced for original work.
Though some of Miller’s paintings, such as her original “Face of Truth,” is priced at $10,000, a print of the same painting costs only $32. In addition to prints, she has made her paintings available on products such as masks, cards, puzzles, coffee mugs, stationery, lifestyle bags, home décor and apparel.
This year, in addition to the holiday collections from local artists, the gallery also has several outstanding Christmas collections assembled by art collectors, such as artist Fran Nielsen’s whimsical collectibles from her mother’s estate.
And as her own gift, Miller is giving anyone who spends $100 at the gallery this holiday season a complimentary set of “Jessel’s Mustard Trilogy,” a $50 value.
Jessel Gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1017 Atlas Peak Road, Napa. For more information, visit Jesselmiller.com or Jesselgallery.com, or call 707- 257-2350.
Jessel Miller: An artist's guide to surviving fires, floods, terrorist attacks and pandemics, Layne Randolph
Napa Valley Register
November 2020
Napa Valley Register
November 2020
|
It takes sheer determination and devotion to your craft to make it as an artist. It requires waving your own flag higher than anyone else and believing in yourself above any critic’s voice.
This may be why Jessel Miller, owner and founder of The Jessel Gallery, has had the stuff to operate 35 years as a gallery owner in the Napa Valley. Miller’s years of survival as an artist led her to an explosion of creativity and inspiration during quarantine, culminating in her new collection of masterworks. Her unique voice and spirit came through over a series of interviews, both via telephone and at The Jessel Gallery in Napa Valley. |
Layne Randolph: Do you recall what originally inspired you to become an artist and why you chose this career path?
Jessel Miller: I knew at 4 years old that art was my safe haven. I was exceedingly shy, and I refused to go to kindergarten until my mother told me, “You will color and draw there.” To this day, art is my place of peace and my refuge from the storms and emotional stress life sometimes puts in our paths. It is my glass of wine and my bowl of ice cream! It is as important as air and water to me. But art is also a business, one that often fails. They did not coin the term, “starving artist” for nothing.
LR: You have been operating your gallery for more than three decades, which is amazing, especially given that the Napa Valley draws tourists searching for wine experiences, not necessarily seeking artwork. It is a testament to your artist reputation and your business skills that you have remained viable for this long.
JM: When I first arrived in Napa in 1985 there were 16 galleries, and now there are three, proving just how hard it is to keep a gallery going here. I started the Napa Valley Gallery Association because I felt it was important for artists to support each other and build a brand around the amazingly talented artists, in a valley known mostly for wineries and wonderful vineyards. I opened The Jessel Gallery because I knew I could make a difference in this community.
Believe me, over the last 35 years, I have experienced firsthand the struggles and changes in the artistic community, topped with the many disasters in the Napa Valley. For me, the worst time was after 9/11. Everyone stopped flying and tourism ground to a halt. My gallery plummeted, essentially ending what was then a million-dollar business with eight employees, which had allowed me the time to do my own creative work. Within months, we were upside down financially and lost all our employees. I had to put my creative side on the back burner, and I learned to be a one-woman-band. I have continued to be one to this day.
This year has been especially hard. The pandemic has wrought havoc in the art gallery world, and in the world in general. Some businesses have been forced to close, in some cases by choice and in others by necessity. Instead of accepting defeat, I did what I have been doing all these years as an artist — I decided to take charge and strategize — which led me to take a whole new look at my gallery and to come up with ways to creatively survive these difficult situations.
LR: You mentioned helping other artists to thrive. For those struggling to keep afloat during this crazy year – and for local businesses doing the same — do you have any words of wisdom to share?
JM: I do. I have learned a few things during my 50 years in the art world, and maybe I can help someone searching for a way to keep things going.
Think outside the box
For me, this means reinventing myself and tuning in to the times, even at 70-plus years old. One thing the pandemic has taught us is that the world is now online. Over the years, I have gathered a base of clients and guests who have loyally supported the gallery and my work, and I have been reaching out to them now more than ever. My idea was that instead of them coming to the gallery, we would take the gallery to them.
We updated our social media presence, and for the first time in my entire career, I started my own website, JesselMiller.com, in addition to the gallery’s site, JesselGallery.com. This allows me to promote some of my individual projects as well as the gallery and the artists we represent. Through Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and email, we are all keeping connected in a new way.
Diversify
I want to share art with anyone who loves it, so I offer something at all price points, from a $5 greeting card to a $30,000 original painting. If a client likes a painting, but it’s outside their price range, they can buy a print and have it framed in-house, or they can buy a mask with the print on it, there are so many options.
I have written several children’s books focusing on positivity, and those books have moved to the forefront now, as well as an adult book I have written that is coming out soon. The books do not take away from my art, they supplement and showcase it. The children’s books are self-illustrated and my upcoming book, Soulful Voices, contains my artwork and tells the story of children across the globe saving the world, humankind, and animals from extinction.
Keep promoting
My gallery is out in the country, so, from the beginning, that was a challenge in building my reputation. People had to find me, and it took being consistent and current in my shows and promotions to draw folks out to my 100-year-old building. I have always supported my local clients with events on a regular basis, but since we stopped having large events in the gallery because of the pandemic, I now have virtual exhibits and online auctions to keep my clients up to date with what is going on in the gallery and with my new artwork.
Give the people what they want.
The valley is the art and heart of the beauty people come to experience when they visit, so my most successful artists (Susan Hoehn, Marta Collings, Beverly Wilson, Daniel Mundy) paint images of the Napa Valley. When I first started my gallery, I had an avant-garde focus, because that is what I loved at the time. I quickly learned that the Napa clientele wanted vineyard scenes as memories of their time here, so I began painting abstract Napa Valley landscapes, and those paintings became our bread and butter.
Connect with local businesses
I connect with local businesses all the time because we are all in this together. Right now, I am letting hotels and B&Bs know they are appreciated by giving them copies of my books for their rooms or lobbies.
Look for the silver lining
There is a silver lining to everything. It was only after the pandemic hit that I allowed myself time to listen and to let my creativity flow through, and it felt like it was being channeled from something greater than myself. I have developed a completely different style over the last 12 months, and though my work was realistic, whimsical, and inventive before this transformation, this new path is the culmination of all my transformations over the past 50 years in the art world, and that’s why it’s called “Jesselism.”
Stay positive
My key to survival up to this point has been keeping a positive attitude. This is the time for all of us to put our thoughts toward the light in our lives. Because my gallery is on the edge of town, I had to evacuate in 2017 because of the fires.
Now I live with an underlying PTSD-type of sleeplessness. I live above my gallery, so on nights of great concern, I sleep with one eye open. But I keep opening the gallery doors each day and putting a smile on my face (even though no one can see it because of the mask), and I personally greet and welcome the few visitors I do get. This keeps my spirits up, and the energy I receive back makes every day worthwhile.
I keep this mantra in my mind: “Take time to touch each moment with love and ask, ‘What can I do today to make a better world?’” Love and friendship carry me through spiritually, and the kindness of my clients and friends have made a huge difference in my business.
The Jessel Gallery is at 1019 Atlas Peak Road, Napa, 707-257-2350, jesselgallery.com.
Jessel Miller: I knew at 4 years old that art was my safe haven. I was exceedingly shy, and I refused to go to kindergarten until my mother told me, “You will color and draw there.” To this day, art is my place of peace and my refuge from the storms and emotional stress life sometimes puts in our paths. It is my glass of wine and my bowl of ice cream! It is as important as air and water to me. But art is also a business, one that often fails. They did not coin the term, “starving artist” for nothing.
LR: You have been operating your gallery for more than three decades, which is amazing, especially given that the Napa Valley draws tourists searching for wine experiences, not necessarily seeking artwork. It is a testament to your artist reputation and your business skills that you have remained viable for this long.
JM: When I first arrived in Napa in 1985 there were 16 galleries, and now there are three, proving just how hard it is to keep a gallery going here. I started the Napa Valley Gallery Association because I felt it was important for artists to support each other and build a brand around the amazingly talented artists, in a valley known mostly for wineries and wonderful vineyards. I opened The Jessel Gallery because I knew I could make a difference in this community.
Believe me, over the last 35 years, I have experienced firsthand the struggles and changes in the artistic community, topped with the many disasters in the Napa Valley. For me, the worst time was after 9/11. Everyone stopped flying and tourism ground to a halt. My gallery plummeted, essentially ending what was then a million-dollar business with eight employees, which had allowed me the time to do my own creative work. Within months, we were upside down financially and lost all our employees. I had to put my creative side on the back burner, and I learned to be a one-woman-band. I have continued to be one to this day.
This year has been especially hard. The pandemic has wrought havoc in the art gallery world, and in the world in general. Some businesses have been forced to close, in some cases by choice and in others by necessity. Instead of accepting defeat, I did what I have been doing all these years as an artist — I decided to take charge and strategize — which led me to take a whole new look at my gallery and to come up with ways to creatively survive these difficult situations.
LR: You mentioned helping other artists to thrive. For those struggling to keep afloat during this crazy year – and for local businesses doing the same — do you have any words of wisdom to share?
JM: I do. I have learned a few things during my 50 years in the art world, and maybe I can help someone searching for a way to keep things going.
Think outside the box
For me, this means reinventing myself and tuning in to the times, even at 70-plus years old. One thing the pandemic has taught us is that the world is now online. Over the years, I have gathered a base of clients and guests who have loyally supported the gallery and my work, and I have been reaching out to them now more than ever. My idea was that instead of them coming to the gallery, we would take the gallery to them.
We updated our social media presence, and for the first time in my entire career, I started my own website, JesselMiller.com, in addition to the gallery’s site, JesselGallery.com. This allows me to promote some of my individual projects as well as the gallery and the artists we represent. Through Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and email, we are all keeping connected in a new way.
Diversify
I want to share art with anyone who loves it, so I offer something at all price points, from a $5 greeting card to a $30,000 original painting. If a client likes a painting, but it’s outside their price range, they can buy a print and have it framed in-house, or they can buy a mask with the print on it, there are so many options.
I have written several children’s books focusing on positivity, and those books have moved to the forefront now, as well as an adult book I have written that is coming out soon. The books do not take away from my art, they supplement and showcase it. The children’s books are self-illustrated and my upcoming book, Soulful Voices, contains my artwork and tells the story of children across the globe saving the world, humankind, and animals from extinction.
Keep promoting
My gallery is out in the country, so, from the beginning, that was a challenge in building my reputation. People had to find me, and it took being consistent and current in my shows and promotions to draw folks out to my 100-year-old building. I have always supported my local clients with events on a regular basis, but since we stopped having large events in the gallery because of the pandemic, I now have virtual exhibits and online auctions to keep my clients up to date with what is going on in the gallery and with my new artwork.
Give the people what they want.
The valley is the art and heart of the beauty people come to experience when they visit, so my most successful artists (Susan Hoehn, Marta Collings, Beverly Wilson, Daniel Mundy) paint images of the Napa Valley. When I first started my gallery, I had an avant-garde focus, because that is what I loved at the time. I quickly learned that the Napa clientele wanted vineyard scenes as memories of their time here, so I began painting abstract Napa Valley landscapes, and those paintings became our bread and butter.
Connect with local businesses
I connect with local businesses all the time because we are all in this together. Right now, I am letting hotels and B&Bs know they are appreciated by giving them copies of my books for their rooms or lobbies.
Look for the silver lining
There is a silver lining to everything. It was only after the pandemic hit that I allowed myself time to listen and to let my creativity flow through, and it felt like it was being channeled from something greater than myself. I have developed a completely different style over the last 12 months, and though my work was realistic, whimsical, and inventive before this transformation, this new path is the culmination of all my transformations over the past 50 years in the art world, and that’s why it’s called “Jesselism.”
Stay positive
My key to survival up to this point has been keeping a positive attitude. This is the time for all of us to put our thoughts toward the light in our lives. Because my gallery is on the edge of town, I had to evacuate in 2017 because of the fires.
Now I live with an underlying PTSD-type of sleeplessness. I live above my gallery, so on nights of great concern, I sleep with one eye open. But I keep opening the gallery doors each day and putting a smile on my face (even though no one can see it because of the mask), and I personally greet and welcome the few visitors I do get. This keeps my spirits up, and the energy I receive back makes every day worthwhile.
I keep this mantra in my mind: “Take time to touch each moment with love and ask, ‘What can I do today to make a better world?’” Love and friendship carry me through spiritually, and the kindness of my clients and friends have made a huge difference in my business.
The Jessel Gallery is at 1019 Atlas Peak Road, Napa, 707-257-2350, jesselgallery.com.
Artists Respond to Covid-19: An Online Gallery from Arts Council Napa Valley
Napa Valley Register
October 2020
Napa Valley Register
October 2020
|
In September, the Arts Council Napa Valley (ACNV) invited local artists to share images of works they have created as they shelter at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
As the art began arriving, the ACNV posted then in an online gallery an Instagram. “During this unprecedented time in history, it’s important to recognize and preserve the work born from its challenges, representing the change to all of our daily lives,” said ACNV Executive Director Chris DeNatale. |
The virtual gallery features work from professional artists across Napa County, from photography to ceramics. The pieces reflect the mindset of not only the artists themselves, but those shared with the local and global community during such an unprecedented event, DeNatale said.
“The pieces featured in this virtual gallery cover many different themes, styles, and media to show the diversity of what art means to our community during such a difficult time,” De Natale said. “We hope that this gallery will serve as a platform for Napa County community members to share creativity, process current events, and later reflect upon the past through the eyes of local artists.”
He added, “The work is impressive and healing and deserves to be seen by a wide audience.”
The Arts Council has shared some of the artworks they’ve received. Tim Crysta, director of programs for the ACNV, said contributions are continuing to arrive, and the gallery is being updated with new works weekly.
“The pieces featured in this virtual gallery cover many different themes, styles, and media to show the diversity of what art means to our community during such a difficult time,” De Natale said. “We hope that this gallery will serve as a platform for Napa County community members to share creativity, process current events, and later reflect upon the past through the eyes of local artists.”
He added, “The work is impressive and healing and deserves to be seen by a wide audience.”
The Arts Council has shared some of the artworks they’ve received. Tim Crysta, director of programs for the ACNV, said contributions are continuing to arrive, and the gallery is being updated with new works weekly.
Nothing Like Napa, by Alexandra Sharova
Santa Barbara Life and Style (p 72 - 77)
November/December 2020
Santa Barbara Life and Style (p 72 - 77)
November/December 2020
Author Alexandra & friend Kara. "Your class was truly one of the highlights of our trip! It was such a wonderful experience."
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Excerpt featuring Jessel Miller
Our morning begins with a less than obvious activity for Napa: a painting class at Jessel Gallery. The studio, which doubles as a gallery and eclectic boutique filled with antiques, vintage gowns, and of course art of various mediums, has been serving the Napa Valley since 1984. Jessel, the owner, head artist, and our teacher for the day, guides us through a playful three-step process. For her, art is about fun and freedom, just like our session. I lose myself in a ménage of colors, as my flowing strokes leave a rainbow-mess across the canvas. In-between sparingly delivered directions—meant to allow students to use their own creative liberties—Jessel shares her background and in a sense, her transcendent process. I’m quite impressed with my Pollock-like cluster of colors, until inevitably Jessel tells us it’s time to mess them up—step two. While I always knew art had therapeutic qualities, the process of creating chaos, letting go of attachment to a particular outcome, and of course escaping into my imagination, is the mental getaway I’d been seeking for months. The class seemed symbolic of how to deal with the chaos of the world today...all while providing a self-made souvenir; a kaleidoscopic collection of vibrance and ferocity. |
Jessel Miller is having the time of her life. She has spent decades at the heart and soul of Napa Valley’s art world, owning and operating the beloved Jessel Gallery on Atlas Peak Road since 1984.
Jessel originally envisioned the former whiskey distillery as a giant gallery promoting her own and other artist’s avant-garde work, only to discover that was not commercially viable in the Napa Valley. She began painting vineyards and landscapes — “Whatever it took to keep a roof over us, and the bills paid,” she candidly explains. Over the years, the 6,500 square foot space evolved into an intoxicating mix of gallery-business-studio-teaching facility-Napa Valley landmark.
Jessel is a bit of a Renaissance woman, fitting for an artist who studied her craft in the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence, Italy. She is an acclaimed artist, the author of six books (a seventh to be released soon), an art and painting instructor, a songwriter, and an accomplished businesswoman.
The vast collection of art she has created over the years acts as a map of her personal journey as an artist. Her earliest work shows the dreamlike imagery that reappears later, then a series of exquisite portraits are followed by a series of vibrant, abstract nature paintings and still life works that evoke the atmosphere and emotion of the scenes better than real life.
Jessel originally envisioned the former whiskey distillery as a giant gallery promoting her own and other artist’s avant-garde work, only to discover that was not commercially viable in the Napa Valley. She began painting vineyards and landscapes — “Whatever it took to keep a roof over us, and the bills paid,” she candidly explains. Over the years, the 6,500 square foot space evolved into an intoxicating mix of gallery-business-studio-teaching facility-Napa Valley landmark.
Jessel is a bit of a Renaissance woman, fitting for an artist who studied her craft in the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence, Italy. She is an acclaimed artist, the author of six books (a seventh to be released soon), an art and painting instructor, a songwriter, and an accomplished businesswoman.
The vast collection of art she has created over the years acts as a map of her personal journey as an artist. Her earliest work shows the dreamlike imagery that reappears later, then a series of exquisite portraits are followed by a series of vibrant, abstract nature paintings and still life works that evoke the atmosphere and emotion of the scenes better than real life.
Jessel Miller 1988
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Jessel Miller 2020
Photo by Layne Randolph |
And then 2020 happened. The global pandemic forced businesses to shut down and for the world to take a breather. The temporary closure of the gallery was like a palate cleanser for Jessel's artistic inspiration. Intuitive and perceptive, she told herself, “I need to mulch. Something is coming, and I need to step out of the way.”
Within weeks, “I was dragged into the studio at 3 in the morning, and the art was just coming out of me. It needed to speak,” she said.
Within weeks, “I was dragged into the studio at 3 in the morning, and the art was just coming out of me. It needed to speak,” she said.
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Her experience as an artist enabled her to express on canvas the messages that were coming through her as their conduit. The result was a veritable explosion of divinely inspired paintings.
Her latest creations are a mixture of fantasy and reality, and her use of dazzling color heightens the Chagall-like allegories that run through these thought-provoking fairy tale images of fish, birds, elephants, and turtles to create the dreamlike imagery of “Jesselism.” 
The Geisha and her Fish, Jessel Miller
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African Courage Elephant< Jessel Miller
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And then there are the faces—faces abstracted from her exacting skill as a portrait artist—faces reflecting a world of cultures shining through the chaos, floating in a glimmering celestial universe, deftly conveying the titles of her latest collections, “Honored Souls” and “Soulful Voices.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr start, Jessel Miller
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Soulful Voices book cover, Jessel Miller
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A Child in Paris, Jessel Miller
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These paintings, although spectacularly beautiful, convey deeper global significance – the silver lining of the pandemic. The world is resting; water is cleaner, the air is purer, animals and fish are thriving in the rejuvenated ecosystem, and the world is spiritually linked.
There has been overwhelming recognition that her illustrious life’s work has culminated in this collection of intensely emotional paintings and that her moment is now.
When asked if she agreed, the naturally exuberant Jessel exclaimed, “It is now! I can feel it!”
"Jessel has dedicated her life to other artists through www.JesselGallery.com, and now, for the first time, she has launched a website solely dedicated to her work, www.JesselMiller.com.
There has been overwhelming recognition that her illustrious life’s work has culminated in this collection of intensely emotional paintings and that her moment is now.
When asked if she agreed, the naturally exuberant Jessel exclaimed, “It is now! I can feel it!”
"Jessel has dedicated her life to other artists through www.JesselGallery.com, and now, for the first time, she has launched a website solely dedicated to her work, www.JesselMiller.com.
While the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the arts and artists across the nation, for Napa artist Jessel Miller, the effect is a challenge that she describes as “an enormous overhaul, transformation, evolution and complete reinvention of my art.”
Miller opened her gallery 35 years ago in an rambling old stone winery on Atlas Peak Road in Napa. Over the years, she evolved in a dual role, both as an artist and a supporter of others, showing works local and international artists and local artisans, and hosting receptions for writers and musicians and teaching classes and making the gallery available for other artists to teach.
Mingled in the gallery, among Guy Buffet’s witty, culinary paintings, Daniel Mundy’s idyllic pastoral studies and Stuart Dunkel’s charming paintings of mice at work and play, one could find Miller’s works, too — romantic watercolors of vineyards, fields, rivers and mountains, all filled with a rainbow of colors.
“Jessel Miller,” said Napa author Lenore Hirsch, “is the heart of the valley.”
Today, however, the main gallery has undergone a metamorphosis. White tarps cover the floor, and four different painting stations display works in progress. A dizzying explosion of paintings cover the walls. More are stacked on tables and propped against each other on the floor.
The paintings are dark and wild, swirling patchworks of jewel tones, scattered with gold. From the storm of colors and shapes, forms emerge: an owl, a hawk, a wolf, a giraffe. Caught in them, too, are human faces. Some are recognizable: Michelle Obama, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, Greta Thunberg, John McCain. Other faces might have been drawn from a timeless well of archetypal images, angels, goddesses, and nearly formless windblown shapes.
Perhaps the most striking painting, resting on a massive easel beneath spotlights is titled “The Healer.”
They are all Miller’s works, and they are unlike anything she has ever created before in her long career as an artist. Miller is painting daily,moving from one station to another, turning out work after work. She says it is “as if a door has opened — or maybe it’s doors and windows all at once” to capture in one dizzying whirlwind of creativity, the spirit of our times, and find inside it, hope.
Soulful voices emerge“When my family abruptly moved from deep in the woods of northern Ontario to Miami, Florida in 1965 I had no outlet for my very creative soul,” Miller writes in the blog she is posting to chronicle her work.
Growing up in Canada,” she said, “music, art and movement were my greatest daily joy. Landing in Florida, my heart and art turned inward and I began drawing for hours in my room. Faces began to appear on my pages and words and music flew out of my hand. It was the worst of times because of the drastic change in climate, culture and lack of friendships, yet it was also the beginning of my focus towards a creative life, which to this day is what I do every single day.”
When she moved to Napa as a young artist, she left behind her early work in portraits and began painting light-hearted, joyful studies, inspired by the valley that became her home. She became the artist for the now-defunct Mustard Festival and published a series of colorful books “for children of all ages.” Illustrated with her merry art, her Mustards stories, as well as “Angels in the Vineyards,” and “The Calico Cat” advocated the good, simple life on the land.
The metamorphosis in Miller’s works, both style and content, began last fall when she decided to try using acrylics, instead of her usual watercolors. The new medium led her to experiment with abstract paintings “a whole new world.”
In November, she began preparing for the gallery’s annual holiday show and that brings together artisans and artists from Napa Valley. “It is always filled bright and full of energy and light,” Miller said. “While setting up the Christmas show, I noticed a couple of blank spaces on the wall. I popped out two abstract pieces, put frames on them — and voila! — a door to a new exciting road opened and I raced through it.”
She began painting more abstracts experimentally on paper. When she turned to painting on canvas, much to her astonishment, a figure appeared in one of her works.
“At first, I thought the woman was holding a child, and the child’s head was the round, greenish-gold ball. When I stepped back, I realized the child was holding the world up in its hands.”
She added, “That painting was the first time in years I let the messages take over, and I allowed the paint and canvas to guide me. I let them speak.”
“When this transformation took complete hold of me, I would get up and race down to the gallery at all hours, from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m., and start painting. Instead of fighting the forces, I gave in to them and honored and trusted that this was really important work.”
Miller said, “I realized I had a job to do and a new book to write. After publishing six books I thought I was done with books. Imagine my internal shock when I realized there was more to be said and I was being given the task.”
As more forms emerged in her work, shapes of animals and sometimes letters, she decided to call her new work “Soulful Voices.” She began writing text to accompany the paintings, capturing voices she felt were calling for help in averting the impending climate catastrophe: whales, elephants, giraffes, and monkeys, as well as human children and mysterious spirits.
Throughout January, absorbed in her work, she said, “I made a conscious decision that I could no longer watch the negative news and all that ripping and tearing of common kindness ... I cleared my life and turned off all ‘bad news.”
But then a friend came to visit on Jan. 26, and “mentioned that Kobe Bryant and his daughter, plus several other people, had died in a tragic helicopter accident. I didn’t really know who Kobe Bryant was.”
Nonetheless, that night, she got up to paint the faces of the father and daughter. “What struck me and is driving me to this day is that life is so fragile. The instant death of these precious souls reconfirmed my commitment to getting this book out as a quickly as possible.”
Tuning back into the news of the pandemic overtaking the world gave her a new energy and more faces for her paintings. In one of her paintings, letters emerged, spelling out, “hope.”
“Every day, images are appearing and I simply get out of the way and let them come through,” she said. “Every night I ask the universe, ‘What is the message I need to paint?’
“One night, the words ‘moon man and nightingale’ came through loud and clear. The nightingale has a long history with symbolic associations ranging from creativity, the muse, nature’s purity, and, in Western spiritual tradition, virtue and goodness. The nightingale became a voice of nature. I looked online for images of this bird and suddenly it hit me. This was not just about a bird, it was about Florence Nightingale, who devoted her life to helping the sick.” Nightingale became another face in a painting.
As for “The Healer,” she said, “(it) came in a completely different body when I first painted her, and I let her take time to reveal herself over a month’s time. This is the process we are all dealing with and I believe if we are vigilant and also protect our minds from too much negative news, we will weather this storm together.
She added, “This image is dedicated to all those powerful brave souls who spend each day caring for others and putting their own lives at risk for all of us.”
“I am listening to the doctors and scientists, while spending this time finding creative ways to express my thoughts,” Miller said. “We will rise to the challenge. For the first time in 35 years, I have nothing to do but paint. I think this is what is happening to a lot of creators. I have a lifetime of images inside me. I am flying.”
Visitors to the gallery, before the shelter-in-place directive took effect, began asking to buy her new paintings, and Miller has agreed to sell some, both originals and giclee prints, with the condition that she keep the originals for now, until the coronavirus crisis has passed, and she can again host a show in her gallery.
And the paintings will all appear in “Soulful Voices,” which Miller calls, “the culmination of 70 years of flowering formations and wisdom gleamed and gathered in my life adventure.”
For more on her work, to follow her blog, or to purchase paintings or prints, visit jesselgallery.com.
Miller opened her gallery 35 years ago in an rambling old stone winery on Atlas Peak Road in Napa. Over the years, she evolved in a dual role, both as an artist and a supporter of others, showing works local and international artists and local artisans, and hosting receptions for writers and musicians and teaching classes and making the gallery available for other artists to teach.
Mingled in the gallery, among Guy Buffet’s witty, culinary paintings, Daniel Mundy’s idyllic pastoral studies and Stuart Dunkel’s charming paintings of mice at work and play, one could find Miller’s works, too — romantic watercolors of vineyards, fields, rivers and mountains, all filled with a rainbow of colors.
“Jessel Miller,” said Napa author Lenore Hirsch, “is the heart of the valley.”
Today, however, the main gallery has undergone a metamorphosis. White tarps cover the floor, and four different painting stations display works in progress. A dizzying explosion of paintings cover the walls. More are stacked on tables and propped against each other on the floor.
The paintings are dark and wild, swirling patchworks of jewel tones, scattered with gold. From the storm of colors and shapes, forms emerge: an owl, a hawk, a wolf, a giraffe. Caught in them, too, are human faces. Some are recognizable: Michelle Obama, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, Greta Thunberg, John McCain. Other faces might have been drawn from a timeless well of archetypal images, angels, goddesses, and nearly formless windblown shapes.
Perhaps the most striking painting, resting on a massive easel beneath spotlights is titled “The Healer.”
They are all Miller’s works, and they are unlike anything she has ever created before in her long career as an artist. Miller is painting daily,moving from one station to another, turning out work after work. She says it is “as if a door has opened — or maybe it’s doors and windows all at once” to capture in one dizzying whirlwind of creativity, the spirit of our times, and find inside it, hope.
Soulful voices emerge“When my family abruptly moved from deep in the woods of northern Ontario to Miami, Florida in 1965 I had no outlet for my very creative soul,” Miller writes in the blog she is posting to chronicle her work.
Growing up in Canada,” she said, “music, art and movement were my greatest daily joy. Landing in Florida, my heart and art turned inward and I began drawing for hours in my room. Faces began to appear on my pages and words and music flew out of my hand. It was the worst of times because of the drastic change in climate, culture and lack of friendships, yet it was also the beginning of my focus towards a creative life, which to this day is what I do every single day.”
When she moved to Napa as a young artist, she left behind her early work in portraits and began painting light-hearted, joyful studies, inspired by the valley that became her home. She became the artist for the now-defunct Mustard Festival and published a series of colorful books “for children of all ages.” Illustrated with her merry art, her Mustards stories, as well as “Angels in the Vineyards,” and “The Calico Cat” advocated the good, simple life on the land.
The metamorphosis in Miller’s works, both style and content, began last fall when she decided to try using acrylics, instead of her usual watercolors. The new medium led her to experiment with abstract paintings “a whole new world.”
In November, she began preparing for the gallery’s annual holiday show and that brings together artisans and artists from Napa Valley. “It is always filled bright and full of energy and light,” Miller said. “While setting up the Christmas show, I noticed a couple of blank spaces on the wall. I popped out two abstract pieces, put frames on them — and voila! — a door to a new exciting road opened and I raced through it.”
She began painting more abstracts experimentally on paper. When she turned to painting on canvas, much to her astonishment, a figure appeared in one of her works.
“At first, I thought the woman was holding a child, and the child’s head was the round, greenish-gold ball. When I stepped back, I realized the child was holding the world up in its hands.”
She added, “That painting was the first time in years I let the messages take over, and I allowed the paint and canvas to guide me. I let them speak.”
“When this transformation took complete hold of me, I would get up and race down to the gallery at all hours, from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m., and start painting. Instead of fighting the forces, I gave in to them and honored and trusted that this was really important work.”
Miller said, “I realized I had a job to do and a new book to write. After publishing six books I thought I was done with books. Imagine my internal shock when I realized there was more to be said and I was being given the task.”
As more forms emerged in her work, shapes of animals and sometimes letters, she decided to call her new work “Soulful Voices.” She began writing text to accompany the paintings, capturing voices she felt were calling for help in averting the impending climate catastrophe: whales, elephants, giraffes, and monkeys, as well as human children and mysterious spirits.
Throughout January, absorbed in her work, she said, “I made a conscious decision that I could no longer watch the negative news and all that ripping and tearing of common kindness ... I cleared my life and turned off all ‘bad news.”
But then a friend came to visit on Jan. 26, and “mentioned that Kobe Bryant and his daughter, plus several other people, had died in a tragic helicopter accident. I didn’t really know who Kobe Bryant was.”
Nonetheless, that night, she got up to paint the faces of the father and daughter. “What struck me and is driving me to this day is that life is so fragile. The instant death of these precious souls reconfirmed my commitment to getting this book out as a quickly as possible.”
Tuning back into the news of the pandemic overtaking the world gave her a new energy and more faces for her paintings. In one of her paintings, letters emerged, spelling out, “hope.”
“Every day, images are appearing and I simply get out of the way and let them come through,” she said. “Every night I ask the universe, ‘What is the message I need to paint?’
“One night, the words ‘moon man and nightingale’ came through loud and clear. The nightingale has a long history with symbolic associations ranging from creativity, the muse, nature’s purity, and, in Western spiritual tradition, virtue and goodness. The nightingale became a voice of nature. I looked online for images of this bird and suddenly it hit me. This was not just about a bird, it was about Florence Nightingale, who devoted her life to helping the sick.” Nightingale became another face in a painting.
As for “The Healer,” she said, “(it) came in a completely different body when I first painted her, and I let her take time to reveal herself over a month’s time. This is the process we are all dealing with and I believe if we are vigilant and also protect our minds from too much negative news, we will weather this storm together.
She added, “This image is dedicated to all those powerful brave souls who spend each day caring for others and putting their own lives at risk for all of us.”
“I am listening to the doctors and scientists, while spending this time finding creative ways to express my thoughts,” Miller said. “We will rise to the challenge. For the first time in 35 years, I have nothing to do but paint. I think this is what is happening to a lot of creators. I have a lifetime of images inside me. I am flying.”
Visitors to the gallery, before the shelter-in-place directive took effect, began asking to buy her new paintings, and Miller has agreed to sell some, both originals and giclee prints, with the condition that she keep the originals for now, until the coronavirus crisis has passed, and she can again host a show in her gallery.
And the paintings will all appear in “Soulful Voices,” which Miller calls, “the culmination of 70 years of flowering formations and wisdom gleamed and gathered in my life adventure.”
For more on her work, to follow her blog, or to purchase paintings or prints, visit jesselgallery.com.