6 Photos
Ruby Jackson with her work at the opening party for her exhibit at John Jermain Library in Sag Harbor on July 10. COURTESY ALLAN KRONZEK
COURTESY ALLAN KRONZEK Ruby Jackson (middle) with art fans at the opening party for her exhibit at John Jermain Library in Sag Harbor on July 11.
Ruby Jackson's "Janice." COURTESY THE ARTIST
Ruby Jackson's "Muriel." COURTESY THE ARTIST
Ruby Jackson's folded paper art on display at John Jermain Library in Sag Harbor. JULIA HEMING
Ruby Jackson's Flowers on Couches and Chairs drawings on display at John Jermain Library in Sag Harbor. JULIA HEMING
Sag Harbor artist Ruby Jackson is showing her work at John Jermain Library in Sag Harbor through August 10.
Jackson’s work on display at the library includes polymer clay miniatures, glitter glue mobiles, paper wall sculptures, drawings of flowers on couches and much more. Jackson hopes people will find her work to be “a party for their eyes.”
The show currently on display at the library features 15 years of her art, but according to Jackson, the art is made possible by everything she has done since drawing as a child.
“It took me 72 years, because everything you did got you to where you are,” Jackson said.
Jackson described the creative process behind each part of the exhibit, saying that the inspiration came partly from the medium and in a few cases by mistake.
“I just want to have a good time, working with whatever I am doing,” Jackson said. “And I wanted to offer surprises and I want to see where I am going.”
Her glitter glue mobiles came to be after she created a series of underwater pen and ink drawings that featured glitter glue.
When the series was complete, Jackson had glitter glue left over and she decided to squirt it out on plastic paper. She returned to her studio after a week of working at the Pollock-Krasner house, she found the glitter glue had dried and lifted from the paper, allowing her to fold, cut or sew this new-found metallic material.
“I thought, where am I putting all of this stuff? I have a studio full of art and a basement full of art. I went, ‘Oh, I will hang them, I will hang them from the ceiling, I have no art on the ceiling,’” Jackson said.
Her series of flowers on couches and chairs was inspired by her own imagination of what plants do when their homeowners go to work, while also being partially inspired by her own desire to lounge.
“I imaginated all of the plants sitting on the furniture, relaxing and spreading out,” Jackson said.
Jackson grew up in Queens and has a degree in art education from Long Island University. After surviving two bouts with breast cancer, Jackson found art to be an outlet and a space for healing.
Jackson encourages people to visit the library to connect with the community and find books in addition to finding her art.
“And then while you are browsing on the shelves, you look on the walls and see things you have not seen before,” Jackson said.
Julia Heming on Jul 11, 2022