February Art Reception: J. E. Crum
February 2, 2018 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
J.E. Crum is a contemporary artist who creates art focusing on the exploratory qualities of the mediums of watercolor, acrylic and pastel to create abstractions of the human form, mostly of the face and hands, developing playful juxtapositions of colors and shapes within the artworks using the method of automatism. Crum tends to draw inspiration from mythologies in the narratives that evolve from her experimentations while creating portrait abstractions. The artist focuses on engaging in the aesthetic experience as a relaxation technique, attempting to use her art making as a way to cultivate her creativity, and learn how to foster a creative environment. J.E. is experimenting with the medium and pen and ink in drawings using various types of water-based markers, gel pens, glitter pens and highlighters, questioning the validity of using children’s materials as a medium to create Art.
J.E. enjoys working in a fast-paced career as an elementary Visual Arts Educator in state public schools, of which the artist currently teaches nearly 1,000 children a week in a 50-mile radius – of a rural locale, from ages four to eleven. Crum holds a M.A. in Art Education and Research from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland; B.S. in Art Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and also studied Art at Mississippi University for Women, in Columbus, Mississippi, as well as studied at The Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France. The artist also enjoys creating landscapes when traveling abroad during summer vacations as a way to depict and record memories.
