Today we’d like to introduce you to JP Wackenstedt
Hi JP, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was lucky in that I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house, and they were both very creative. My grandmother was a seamstress and had a sewing room that was my favorite place on the planet. It was tiny, but every inch was stuffed with art supplies; fabric, sequins, paint, glue, and tons of those old cookie tins full of buttons. I could thread a sewing machine before I started kindergarten. My grandfather was a woodworker, taxidermist and knifemaker. He even handmade leather cases for every knife he sold. It just seemed totally normal to me as a kid to spend all day making things.
I eventually ended up with an art degree from UCSD with an emphasis in painting. I worked on and off as a decorative painter and muralist before taking some time off to raise my young son. When he went to school, I decided to take a class through open university at SDSU as sort of a refresher course. I was lucky enough to study under Professor Eva Struble, who really helped me sort of clarify the path I wanted to take artistically. Towards the end of 2022 I made the decision to focus on a full-time career as a professional artist. I started applying for shows and was lucky enough to be juried in to some great ones with the City of Encinitas, Oceanside Museum of Art and the La Jolla Athenaeum. This year I decided to apply to graduate programs, so that’s what I’ve been focused on the last few months.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t know of any artist who’s had a smooth road! It’s definitely not a path for the faint-hearted. Finding a network was really tough for me. Like a lot of artists, I’m an introvert, and was older when I decided to really pursue a professional career. I really had to push myself to do some uncomfortable things, put my work and myself out there, and take risks that felt pretty scary. The more I did it the easier it was.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Most of my work to this point has been painting. I’ve recently started incorporating linoprint and am hoping to do some installation and interactive pieces in the future. I recently had the opportunity to do an installation at SDSU that incorporated sculpture and a pinata that participants destroyed and I really loved that project, so hopefully I can head in that direction.
Conceptually, my past work deals with grief and joy and the trajectory and navigation of these emotions. I’m interested in how humans stay optimistic, knowing they will face tragedy in either the distant or near future. My recent work consists of painting everyday events with parts of the subject matter missing. The background layers over and erases pieces and the gestures are immobilized in a perilous balance. It’s a transient instance about to dissolve and exist only in memory. I’m interested in the discordant feelings this conjures. How is it possible to feel both grateful for and mourning the loss of this time in the same exact moment?
Presently, within the last couple of months, I feel that I’m on the edge of transitioning from these topics to broader issues conceptually. My current work, as I’m starting to include sculptural elements, seems to be heading towards issues of power and acceptance and resistance of control.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
What worked for me was to focus on what I could control, which was the number of shows I applied to, not how many I was accepted in. Getting those first rejections is just a step in the process. I’ve taken classes consistently through UCSD extension and have met great friends in the art world that way. Exhibiting at shows like Artwalk and La Jolla Art & Wine Festival was also a great way to find collectors and meet other artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jpwackenstedt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpwackenstedt
