About the mural
WHO FUNDED THIS?
CREATE's Paint the County! installed new public art that respond to this unique moment in history. Inspired by WPA-style New Deal programming of the Great Depression, this project aims to provide artists access to revenue streams during COVID-19, make space for underrepresented voices to be more visible in our community, draw people to new, important, or under-activated spaces, and spread our creative identity to all parts of Portage County.
This mural is part of a partnership with the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest, and the Wisconsin Arts Board that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment through murals that incorporate inspirational quotations authored by women from marginalized backgrounds, adding vibrant and meaningful public art that honors these unique locations.
About Jessie Fritsch
Encaustic/Wax Artist. Workshop Instructor. Art Fair Exhibitor. Art Event Planner
My drive is to make art, teach workshops, protect the pollinators, and help support a vibrant art community in Central WI.
I paint because I was raised surrounded by a creative and arty family who always supported my artistic talent and ambition.
I began primarily using encaustics because I was captivated by its ancient history and was challenged by its process of heating and cooling which captures the dynamic of chaos and demands control unlike that of any other painting medium.
The process of encaustic demands a confident hand as well as a hand that can allow the spontaneity of the flow of the wax. This balance of discipline and disconformities are reflected in my work as well as my life.
Bio:
My first year of college, I stumbled across the book about ancient funeral portraits that were painted with beeswax titled “The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt” by Euphrosyne Doxiadis. I became fascinated by this lost art and have dedicated myself to working with encaustic for the past 17 years.
In 2004 I received a research grant from UWSP to teach myself how to paint with molten pigmented beeswax. I graduated with a BFA in Studio Art with a painting emphasis in 2006. I didn’t get into graduate school so I began exhibiting at art festivals.
I am a working artist, an art fair exhibitor, and an encaustic workshop instructor.
I opened an art teaching studio in March 2022 called Buzz in Art Studios, is located in Arnott, WI. I will be hosting fine art workshops and will provide a teaching space for my community.
I am Council Chair for the Stevens Point Festival of the Arts, and on the steering committee for the Hidden Studios Art Tour in Central WI.
