Jennifer Galvin
Cherry Blossoms in Bloom

Media: Pulp Painting, Recycled Jeans and Recycled, Pigmented T-shirts

Artist Statement:
My current portfolio is primarily composed of pulp paintings. They are created out of recycled materials such as recycled jeans, t-shirts, mat board, and plant fiber.

I love to take what is being discarded, what other people consider trash, and turn it into something beautiful. My pulp painting process begins with using my own photography to create a stencil. I then slowly remove the stencil and flow recycled pulp into the design. The final step is to add one more layer of pulp with a paintbrush. The finished painting is one continuous sheet of paper with no glue used in the final product. 

My paintings are based on what I see around me. The metamorphosis of the painting itself is a part of my process. As the pulp becomes the painting, it is transformed into something entirely new—something beauti-ful out of what was once seen as used up. I intend to show that new is not better than used, and that often our greatest inspirations come from the discarded. I love the hope that comes from making something new out of something that people see as used up—seeing beauty in the broken, hope where there is hopelessness. Recycling is very much a part of the art process for me.

I am inspired by several artists. I love the Impressionists and try to emulate their flow of color and light with my pulp painting. I also love the artwork of Yayoi Kusama and am currently working toward adding light and 3D elements to my work. 

Biography

Virginia based artist, Jennifer Galvin, has been making paper since 2002. Her love for making paper has gradually evolved to painting with paper—pulp painting. Almost all of the paper materials that are used in her studio, Wild Oaks Studio, are recycled. Jennifer takes discarded material and gives it new life—old t-shirts, jeans, and mat board become beautiful paintings. Jennifer’s pulp paintings have won several awards in National Juried Exhibitions. She is a member of IAPMA (International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists), NAHP (North American Hand Papermakers), FCCA (Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts), and her work is shown locally at Art First Gallery in Fredericksburg, VA.