‘Artefact’ – Jess Racklyeft – the bid is at $60

Jess’s studio is currently located in a peaceful old convent just off the bustling Merri Creek waterway in Naarm/Melbourne.

A little way down the street there is a lively inner city farm, where Jess often escapes for her meal breaks:

‘I am joyously now having picnic lunches with the lambs,’ she laughs.

The natural world being one of Jess’ biggest inspirations, this lovely haven nestled in the inner suburbs, is the perfect place for her creativity to flourish. Plants spring up with reckless abandon in every one of her books, knitting scenes together and framing her character’s stories:

‘A tree fern and eucalyptus forest fill me with joy. I do also love our inner city suburb feeling like a country town. I walk everywhere and know a lot of the residents of our hood!’

When asked to describe the most beautiful thing she has ever seen, Jess goes straight to a solitary, peaceful place in nature:

‘20 years ago…dawn over a snowy mountain, rising above a lake. I cried. It was insanely magical. I was all by myself and I knew I would remember it forever.’

This scene makes me think of Jess’ illustrations in the book ‘Iceberg’, written by Claire Saxby. The book embarks on a poetic account of the arctic life cycles and rich biome all watched over by a newly formed iceberg. Jess manages to fill this inanimate formation with poignant personality as part of the greater arctic ecosystem. By the end of the book the reader finds themselves feeling awe and appreciation for these mobile homes.

As an extension of the natural environment Jess also adores animals and frequently centres them in her books. She expresses the progression of pet ownership in beautiful terms when asked about childhood longing:

‘As a kid I longed for a dog! After many years of begging we did eventually get one, which wrapped our hearts in bows – but also broke hearts into many pieces when he passed away.’

Similar to ‘Iceberg’, however entirely created by Jess, the book ‘Australia: Country of Colour’ carries the powerful message of conservation. Its abundant pages explore countless Australian plants and animals in a romp of colour infused information. Jess’ particular love of colour, lead her to approach her subject matter from a colour angle. Through this ambitious work, Jess hopes to instil curiosity, love, respect and the instinct towards environmental preservation in her readers. She urges us gently, to engage more deeply with our surroundings, pushing our experience of something as omnipresent as colour into a more active role.

The colours of her childhood remain with Jess very strongly. The white sands, the bright turquoise sea.

‘Perth, West Australia. I loved growing up beside the sea in the windswept sand dunes and spending many hours in the sea.’

Jess feels the world through colour and is skilled at expressing emotion through this dimension of an artwork. Her own choices of palette are most often merry, whimsical and relaxing, ranging from eye-catching bright colours to more soothing toned colours.

A number of years ago now, Jess sought out Anna Walker as a mentor (Anna is another artist involved in the Hope Flies project!). Naturally, Jess’ work is somewhat reminiscent of Anna’s own style. Both have a very whole-hearted approach and employ delicate watercolour and experimental textural work. Jess tackles each project slightly differently, trying to learn something new every time. When working on the artworks for ‘Iceberg’, she collected things from around her house to play with different textural potentials: paper towels, sponges, rags, pieces of material and old paint brushes.

Jess speaks with self-effacing humility and has a clear reverence for her peers.

In an interview she speaks emotively about attending a conference in Bologna when she was still on the selling side of publishing. After days of wall to wall meetings, she was given an unexpected 30 minute recess. She ran straight for the illustrators exhibition. Whilst walking around and taking in all the wonderful art, she suddenly began to tear up. This physical response, was like a suddenly irrepressible expulsion of an underlying and spiritual truth, that, due to various insecurities and pressures, had been held at a distance since childhood. The next time she was there, she wanted to be here as an illustrator. 

These days, Jess sees her years on the various sides of publishing as a valuable insight into the process of creating and marketing a book, as well as aiding her in building a strong work ethic. Now she is all artist, juggling illustrating, running an Etsy shop and designing cards and jewellery for various clients. Jess clearly found her home in art:

‘Art is everything: art is my happy place, voice, inspiration, peace and place.’

In her kite, Jess works her usual layering magic, patterns and toned colours, a handsome violet cat, and stealing the show a proudly bedazzled snake:

‘I recently visited the Pharaoh exhibit with my kids at the NGV and was blown away with the huge array of incredible artefacts (while also thinking about the injustice that these pieces have been taken so far away from where they laid for so long). I loved the way animals had such a spiritual significance, decorating jewels, earthenware, tombs and so on. I twisted a serpent around a cat for my artwork, in a wild medley of colour and patterns.’

Use the little anonymous looking link below to see a little video of Jess working on her kite:

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Jess thinks back to her childhood once more, finding some fond memories of other kites:

‘Back to my early Perth days and that relentless wind – my parents were keen sailboarders but when they had enough of that, dad would break out his “stunt kite” – a huge dancing beast of a kite that would lift us off the ground with its force!’

‘Right now,’ Jess says, ‘I am working on several books, some are quite challenging which I am enjoying. I am also reading a very sad book, beautifully written and watching trashy shows while I cook dinner.

‘Everything in balance!’

Asked about her hopes for the world, she says her hope is for a healthy environment, for peace and respect for all people, and great kindness (which really covers all these things).

You can watch Jess make art and find out more about her writing by following the link below.

https://www.instagram.com/jessesmess/reel/C_wcQuxiUVw/

by Adelaide Stolba