Jaymee Harvey Willms Artist

Psychologists and Behavioral analysts talk about behavior patterns all of the time. Often it relates to the patterns of children and (if you're like me and love true crime) criminals. The way we move through life is learned and created second by second. This absolutely fascinates me. I think about my own human movements and whether or not we have learned how to "stir pots" our own way or if we simply echo the pot stirring techniques of our mothers and fathers. Some folks seem to have a muscle memory for changing diapers while others wrestle a toddler like an alligator. When I find myself repeating phrases I heard as a child, or see myself walking in the reflection of glass I wonder if certain things are truly my choice. Am I really my own person? I think about patterned behavior as it relates to femininity and masculinity and the complication of both of those things by communities. Being from the Midwest- people behave in very specific ways, the dress in certain ways ...

Once again, my posting is on a 2 month delay... In the past year I have been a part of an Artist Book Club in Milwaukee. This Club was put together by Kate Schaffer- a badass artist who is literally the busiest human I know. Kate put together this group and we have read some great books and eaten some great food in the last year. One of the books was What Would Lynne Tillman Do? Besides the first chapters on Andy Warhol driving me nuts- this book dug into some serious problems that artists face today. Tillman addressed the artists contemporary plight in domesticity, identity, merit, and research in every chapter. This novel uses interviews and stories from Tillmans own life, and blurrs the line between memory and reality. As a group, Melissa Dorn, Peter Beck, Lois Bielefeld, Kate Schaffer and myself put together an exhibition at Frank Juarez Gallery that investigated our research into this book and author. This exhibition, What Would We Do With Lynne Tillman?, dug into new domestic...

A little more than two months ago, I was packing up my things and heading to the northern part of France to Chateau Orquevaux. Painting there was magic, if you follow my social media pages you probably saw images of a place that belongs in a Disney movie. It wasn't that far off. While there I had a new mantra, one that had I have quite literally never used before. Slow Down. I repeated it to myself constantly, and it worked. During the two weeks in France, I rediscovered painting, rediscovered color, as well as reinvestigated my own reason for making art. I don't have any answers to anything really, but I did slow down. I did create. I am proud of what I have made. Take a look and let me know what you think, it feels good to share it. Each painting is on Arches watercolor paper and is 24x36 inches. I used acrylic paint, ink, spray paint and oil sticks in a variety of ways to build up layers, patterns and color.

I'm here! I made it, and now all I need to do is try not to get lost or murdered. One of the afore mentioned being inevitable in a foreign land. 8 months ago, I was sitting at my desk at work trying to refocus my attention on a budget when the very rare "Congratulations!" email popped up. (Those of you that are artists know just how rare this is...) My throat hitched and I realized this residency I had applied for in France- FRANCE- had accepted my application. The breathlessness of that moment is something I will not easily forget. Would I be able to afford it? What would my husband think? What made them say yes? A million questions all in an instant. Fast forward those 8 months and a few flights later, I am here, at Chateau Orquevaux in Orquevaux, France. Everywhere you look is a picture, the only sounds are birds and rushing water and the Chateau overlooks a reservoir of the cleanest water imaginable with a valley behind it. It couldn't be more of a fairytal...

Women of Washington County is an exhibition dedicated to three female abstract artists that focus in on the world and the things that shaped them. In this exhibition viewers will take on three different visual perspectives on feminism, abstraction, place, time and domesticity. Each artist will challenge these 5 ideas in different ways. Melissa Dorn Richards zeros in on the banal and reexamines the world of objects we live in. Kate Schaffer tears apart time and space, she then rebuilds it to allow the viewer to consider a new perspective. Jaymee Harvey Willms uses layers of repeated patterns and shapes and story-based imagery to challenge the fairytales of childhood and monotony of adulthood. Together these three women provide a window into the lives of women in Washington County. They document the challenges, celebrations, humors and dark side of womanhood in Wisconsin as well as a broader scope into the lives of American women today. This exhibition was January 2018-April...