Starting just around the age of 2, sophomore art education major Autumn Jackson has been involved in art for as long as she could hold a pencil. However, the artist from Columbia, South Carolina said it was a piece she created in middle school that marked a turning point in how she viewed herself as an artist.
“7th-grade year, I think, I created a pop art collage of a pair of Converses, and that was one of the first pieces that was going to get sold, but I wanted to keep it for some odd reason. But that just allowed me to see that somebody could actually want my art,” Jackson said.
Jackson, a teaching fellow at Winthrop University, is studying to become an art teacher and has taken almost any and every opportunity that she is offered.
“I have worked with the NAACP on several occasions; I used to be a part of a[n] organization called ‘BLAC’. It was the Black Artists Coalition, and they allowed me to get involved with a local paint and sip studio,” Jackson said. “So, any opportunity I can get, I am on it.”
On Jackson’s Instagram account for her artwork, @fall.jacksoncreations, you can catch a glimpse of her hectic artist lifestyle through candids of her working on pieces, photos of paintings, and featured photographs. She explains that although a significant amount of the pieces she has in art shows are photography, she has diversified herself through exploring many different art mediums.
Last semester, Jackson was asked by Emerald Cooper, president of the Winthrop University NAACP Chapter, to create a mural for the March for Black Lives. The piece displayed two blue hands covering the mouths of two people with brown skin.
“For the Black Lives Matter mural…they wanted for me to create a piece that brought the community together while also talking about the issues that have been going on with police brutality especially after the death of Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner. They wanted to have a piece that talked about those issues but also creating a sense of community and awareness on our campus,” Jackson said.
The artist is most inspired by divine femininity. Furthermore, from the experience of being a black woman in the U.S.
“It’s more connected to me and exploring sexuality, health, just all the things that come into my mind and give me peace at times,” Jackson said. “I’m following two current artists right now. “It’s Lady Aiko Nakagawa; she is from Japan, but she’s a New York–based street artist, and the other one is Somaya Critchlow. She’s a London-based artist, and she works with earthy tones, race, sex, and culture. So, they’re both women artists, and they focus on the same things like women and empowerment.”
When asked to describe the process she goes through for her creations, Jackson said, “If I don’t have an idea of what I’m going to do, I will just stare at a wall for a really long time. And then, like magic, it’s like boom, ‘You need to do this,’ and then I’m running around my room trying to get my sketchbook and pencil and I’m jotting it down, and my roommate will look at me crazy like ‘what are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘I just got an idea, I need to put it down.’
“So my process is either hectic or I’ll do intense research on what I want to do. Different colors, meanings, feelings so it really just depends on my mood for the day.”
The artist, who gives art lessons at Chelsea and Savannah Art Studio and also tutors students in art history at the Academic Success Center, revealed how Winthrop has helped her further her pursuits in art.
“Winthrop has helped me so much. Coming from Columbia, the art programs are not as good as they could be, so my art was lacking in the sense of technical appeal and just true artistry.
“So, coming to Winthrop and having numerous professors that are experts in their field and have the best interest of me at heart, I’ve been able to further develop, learn new techniques, get my hands on new materials that I have never touched or even seen in my life,” Jackson said. “Winthrop has just really given me new opportunities and new experiences.”
Jackson has been accepted into the 33rd Undergraduate Juried Exhibition. She will display six images titled “Her Inner Beauty” showing at Rutledge Gallery from Feb. 15 through Mar. 5.
Photo courtesy to Autumn Jackson
