artist statement
My work is rooted in transformation. I use paint, fabric, gemstones, copper, and found materials to explore what it means to repurpose, reimagine, and remake. Alchemy is at the heart of it: turning the leftovers of one process into the beginning of another.
Many of my pieces begin with what’s been set aside—dried paint, worn canvas, offcuts, scraps, stones. These aren’t mistakes or messes; they’re archives, layers of process and memory. By weaving them together into new forms, whether sculptural paintings or electroformed jewelry, I’m asking what else is possible. What beauty is waiting to be revealed in the materials we already have?
Florida’s natural landscape deeply informs my work: the dense greens, humid skies, tangled growth, and unexpected color of wildflowers and roadside bloom. I’m drawn to places where life insists on itself—where vines split pavement and color cuts through gray. My work is built in the same spirit: layered, tactile, persistent.
Everything I make invites closeness. I want you to feel it, literally. Trace the textures, hold the weight, see the shine of copper or the strata of color built up over time. These pieces are meant to be experienced as much as seen.
At its core, this studio is about making meaning from what remains—creatively, emotionally, and materially. It’s an offering of reverence, reclamation, and renewal.
about the artist
Jessica Gray (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Florida. Her work blends fine art, adornment, and natural materials — combining recycled canvas, layered paint, gemstones, and electroformed copper to create deeply textural, emotionally resonant pieces.
Her creative practice explores themes of transformation, place, and memory. Through both visual and wearable work, she invites viewers to slow down, look closer, and connect to what’s been shaped by time and touch.
professional background
Jessica holds a BFA in Graphic Design and AS degrees in Graphic Design and Business Administration. Her professional background includes fine arts, marketing and business development. Through And Per Se Studios, she returns to the heart of her creative process: intuitive making, natural materials, and the alchemy of art as personal and collective transformation.
Through her coaching work, she helps other creative, soul-driven entrepreneurs build the life of their dreams through entrepreneurship.
What’s in a name?
And Per Se Studios takes its name from the origin of the ampersand — a symbol that evolved from the phrase “and per se and”, meaning “and, in and of itself.” It’s a mark of connection, a merging of parts into something singular yet whole.
The ampersand also represents duality — two forces, two ideas, two materials in relationship. My work lives in that space: between structure and intuition, chaos and form, grief and beauty. It’s about holding contrast, honoring the in-between, and creating something new from what’s been left behind.
This studio is a space for and — expansive, layered, alchemical.