Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Day Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jessica Day , thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

This is a little bit of a sensitive topic for me I think. I was very serious about art when I was younger. My senior year of high school was spent at a boarding school for the arts, and I went on to study studio art in college. I got married in college, very young, and we didn’t wait all that long before starting our family. At 23 I was married, pregnant, and living in a new state after we moved for my husbands first job out of college. The exhaustion of pregnancy left me with little motivation to keep my artistic practice up. As my children were born, and I was the primary caretaker for them, I think it became easier to put my interests last. Looking back now, I know my husband and I both wish that both of us were more assertive about me having protected creative time each week. I really picked up my artistic practice in earnest when a professional artist I admire began an academy. I was able to enroll and study, despite still having small children at home. My kids are all still at home, and need quite a lot from me, but we’ve made my creative time a priority. I feel like I am a better partner and mother when I have at least a handful of hours to myself for art a week. Some weeks it’s more, some it’s less, and I’ve grown more comfortable with protecting my practice. I’ve also grown more comfortable with allowing smaller increments. I used to feel like if I didn’t have at least a couple hours at a time it wasn’t worth it. Now I’m happy to snag a few minutes here and there, recognizing that any time I can get it worth it. Setting up different work spaces around my house helps. I have a spot in my husbands office, our bedroom, a studio above the unattached garage, and I’m finding more ways to do a lot of the planning for pieces on my iPad or phone. So while I do sometimes wish I had kept up my practice when I was younger, it’s never too late to get serious again.

Jessica Day , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a studio artist, working mostly in oil. I enjoy making expressive, textured, and bright paintings. I’ve been focusing more on figurative work recently, exploring motherhood, feminism, and spirituality. I also like painting florals and landscapes. I take a lot of inspiration from different periods in art history. Right now I’m finding myself inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts, renaissance masters, and I always always find myself coming back to post Impressionism, expressionism, and abstract expressionism. I think it’s important to understand who and what you’re influenced by, and I have really begun to embrace my influences in my work.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Whenever you can, buy local. Having an original work or print from a local artist in your home is so much more meaningful than something from a big box store. It is such a mental boost when someone buys from me, and really loves what they buy. In addition to buying from local artists, encouraging the kids in your life to make art is probably the most powerful thing you can do to support art. Keep it important-go to museums, go to local galleries, talk to your kids about art, hype up your kids art, help kids be creative. Art education is a powerfully good thing for society. And artists will be able to thrive in communities where art is valued. H

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have five children, two of which are neurodivergent and have complex emotional needs. It is extremely easy to tell myself that my artistic practice isn’t as important as any of the other million things I need to do. My husband and I both have also had some intense health events in the last few years. I’ve had to take time off, and then question whether it’s worth picking it back up again when we keep having all these big and scary events happen to our family. But I really do believe I’ve been able to be a more patient and present mother and partner as I’ve prioritized my practice. And I’ve realized that I can define my own success. I have peers much further on in their careers, and it used to really get me down. But I can define my own success separate from anyone else’s. I’m doing a lot! Five kids is so many kids! It’s ok that I’m in a different place because it’s my place, and my voice is heavily influenced by my unique experiences.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @artpiesbabies