Jessica Li

Hi, my name is Jessica and I am a new mom, artist, cook, and musician. I started 2020 working as much as I could as a freelance cook in my third trimester, had my first baby in the first month of quarantine shutdown in the US, and finished the year off with a completed work of art that will be part of a continuing series. I've been so grateful for all the unanticipated time together as a new family this year and most certainly attribute my loved ones as my biggest source of inspiration.
I have been working on some textile projects lately and this year I dove into Procion dyes with the help of Dharma Trading. I made a limited edition of hand-dyed and screen-printed Japanese tenugui for a friend's online shop. I knew from the beginning that I wanted a dyed image because tenugui are meant to be used a lot, worn out, and softened over time. the most adventurous part for me was getting acquainted with Procion dyes thickened with sodium alginate gel. At first, the project looked like it was going to be block printed images but I found the gels to be really difficult to work with, and eventually, screenprinting with the dyes was the answer. it turned out to be such a beautifully rewarding process and I quite like working with the "inks" that I can make myself!