Jessica Enevold Duncan

Who am I and how did I get here?

Thanks for landing on my page. Let me tell you a bit about how I ended up doing what I am doing…

In the summer of 2010, I found myself at a mandala workshop – in the double sense of the word. As I was finishing up painting my first mandala ever, I suddenly “woke up”, and I experienced the unsettling feeling of having been asleep for a very long time.

This sudden awakening kept me up… From that day forward, I became obsessed with mandalas; for a year I just could not put the paint brush down.

Art, art, art…and some of my wonderful teachers
After completing several mandala workshops with Erik and AnnMarie Grind Mandala Art in Sweden, and at Findhorn Foundation, Scotland, and Paul Heussenstamm at Esalen, USA, I needed more. Perhaps it was not so strange; some say mandalas are gateways to the soul, and I felt the gates were flung wide open! During spring 2012, I spent two days a week at Göteborg Art College to learn the basics of traditional art, still-life, croquis, and clay-sculpting with wonderful Artists Stefan Ceder and Jenny Magnusson. Hungry for more, I applied and was magically accepted into Dômen Art school, where I continued practicing art under the supervision of another cohort of beautifully supportive, and competent Artist/Teachers. I would like to thank them by mentioning some of them here:

Malin Bogholt pushed me into the world of installations and conceptual art; Patrik Andiné insisted on minute detail, clarity and nuance; Åsa Pröjts taught me invaluable lessons in color mixing, Linda Tedsdotter taught me about film, editing and cutting-edge projects. Intriguing guest teachers Niklas Eneblom and Jack Strange, to mention only a handful of the guest teachers – original voices I had the privilege of learning from those two years – opened up new doors onto the art world. These years in art school pushed me into realms of art that were previously unchartered territories for me. I want to add that I pursued art “on the side” while still holding a position at Lund University, which required a fair amount of juggling and acceptance, mainly on the part of my art teachers.

The average age of a Dômen student being about 24, I was somewhat of an aberration with my 40+ years and limited art background. I am thus eternally grateful to Anna Persson and Mats Nielsen, who gave me the opportunity, for believing in me. My work with sculpture, installation, video, photography and painting figurative, realist works of art in oil and acrylics on canvas and on wood at Dômen enabled me to create a portfolio of work containing conceptual work, text work, textiles, videos and photographs, as well as large paintings – abstract as well as realistic.

From visionary to traditional art and back again
A year later, I ventured into another for me yet unmapped terrain: contemporary symbolic art also called visionary painting. Attracted by the idea of bridging my two separate worlds of the professional academic and the amateur artist, I trained with Artist Shiloh Sophia, founder of Cosmic Cowgirls, The Color of Woman School, and Intentional Creativity Foundation. I graduated from her program in October 2016, a Certified Intentional Creativity (IC) Teacher and Certified IC Coach. Moving to Karlskrona creating Gefion Art & Guest House with my partner Neil enabled me to set up a decent-sized art studio and to lead IC workshops from our amazing Gefion Art House.

Creativity full-time: workshop leader – face to face and online
Since February 2017, I am on a leave of absence from Lund University. I am spending most of my time developing Gefion Art & Guest House and my workshops. With Intentional Creativity as my method, I call upon others to “get real with art”. Under the handle Dr. Jess, Your Creative P.T. I use painting to facilitate change in life and love, in coaching sessions for individuals and in workshops for groups. Apart from project managing the house and perfecting my one cup of coffee a day, most of my time right now was consumed and enchanted by filming an editing my first online course: “Nitty Gritty –  Paint for a Change”, which is now open for registration and starts November 23, 2018.
I am a life-time member of the Cosmic Cowgirls “committing art”, as our Intentional Creativity Matriarch and Mentor Sue Hoya Sellars articulated her artistic practice.

Now and the Future – with Art
That said, out of all the arts I practice, creating paintings remains my number one passion; there is a show that needs to be held somewhere, sometime in the future, be it of magic realist art or visionary work. Perhaps a combination of the two? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am awake, thanks to art. I returned home to myself thanks to art. I am here, awake as person, as artist, thanks to the visionary and spiritual aspects of art. Finally, as the incredible performer Marina Abramovic so impressively and succinctly stated and staged it, in me, here and now:

The Artist is Present.