Synkroniciti is delighted to introduce visual artist Jamie Frontiera of Houston, Texas with Joyful Dance, the hand of mother nature, and The Koi Fish Pond, our wonderfully surreal cover for the “Dreams” issue. I am excited that we have also assembled a short article about her process and her inspiration to work with wood, discovered during a trip to Venice’s Scuola Grande de San Rocco.
The sculpture Joyful Dance began with a piece of found glass that resembled a dress. Inspired in part by music box ballerinas and Degas, Jamie carved a dancer from butternut wood to fit over the glass. The dancer’s hands are raised over her head and her hips swivel, creating a sense of motion. The glass skirt is painted a soft blue and filled with LED lights which recall fairies, fireflies and snowflakes. This light and airy woman is wrapped up in the joy of the dance.
The Koi Fish Pond, is a lively and whimsical combination of three dimensional and two dimensional wood carving techniques depicting the fish above and below the water. This also reflects how the subconscious plays below the surface of our being, revealed in quick glimpses in our dreams and hidden once again. Jamie’s skill and imagination create a sense of movement and wonder. The result is a cross between Chinese woodblock prints and M.C. Escher’s lithography, in a sense making manifest in wood what those artists created on paper with wood or metal templates.
The final piece, the hand of mother nature, is a photograph of an oak tree outside the Menil Collection in Houston. A hand with long green fingernails is superimposed over the trunk, radiating into the branches. Again, we are struck by Jamie’s wonderful imagination and the assembly of differing parts into an unexpected and satisfying whole. This work isn’t made of wood, but it celebrates the life force that creates trees, birthing the medium that so captivates Jamie’s creativity.
View Jamie’s imaginative artwork in Synkroniciti’s “Dreams” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
I am a wood carver and photographer, and began woodcarving in 2017 after seeing the artistry brought out in the wood in Venice’s Scuola De San Rocco. I started exploring all aspects, from chip carving, to relief, pyrography, and carving in the round. With each piece I try to challenge my own abilities. I am drawn to movement, nature and the geometries found there. My hope is to express playfulness or draw you into the dramatic intricacies.
I was raised in Texas, and I have a bachelor’s degree from Pratt Institute. My work can be found on Etsy and Instagram @jmfcarvings.