The Verve: Whimsical, weird featured in Jamie Winterhawke’s art

Jamie Winterhawke celebrates the different sides of herself via a host of media and two distinct styles – the macabre and the whimsical.

She works in watercolor, ink, graphite, mixed media and digital imagery. Her work space is a small kitchen table with a lamp on it – and a large imagination.

Her whimsical pieces include “Almira Wonders if the Bus Will Ever Come,” which is a watercolor of Almira and others standing patiently in less-than-perfect weather; and “Gossip,” three seated figures huddled together.

“Woman with a Cow” and her depictions of trees also have whimsical qualities as well as the ability to make a viewer wonder if something else is going on behind the scenes. “I am intrigued by illusion, mystery, the macabre, as well as science. It is my intent to combine these elements together to create a visceral reaction within the viewer of my work,” Winterhawke said.

Her work is lovely and curious. The macabre pieces, though in no way horrible, do raise questions of the artist’s intent and one’s own reaction to the work. Faces slightly distorted, an abstract heart and a fly landing on the drawing of an ear somehow pull deep-seeded emotions from a viewer. One piece shows two hands, one holding a razor blade and slicing the wrist of the other; blue and green leaves pour out rather than blood.

Winterhawke earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Washington State University in 2005. Years earlier she obtained a degree in mortuary science in California. Her past jobs have been in a pet store, an automotive body shop, and she worked 15 years as a veterinarian technician.

Raised by her grandparents, Winterhawke, 52, had no encouragement as far as art went. Still, she drew. “I made cartoons of my life and very detailed drawings of tunnels to China, caves, clubhouses and spaceships.” Perhaps places in which to escape.

Her college thesis was called “Silentio Piaculum,” a Latin phrase meaning “to silence the victim.” Winterhawke wrote “I chose the silencing and oppression of people that historically have been discriminated against by governments, people, society, religions and so forth.”

Though quiet and thoughtful, her work is filled with dialogue. In her artist’s statement, she explained, “My vision is to engage my audience into my art so that they, in essence, become part of the process. By bringing their own meaning to my images and by the combination of the ideas that are conveyed in my work with their own memories and thoughts, a whole new interpretation will form. Most importantly, I want my viewers to think, to reason and to question.

“One of the main purposes of art is to communicate. It is my intent to communicate with my viewers through a visual world that is rich with symbolism, a mysterious inviting presence, and that through the synthesis of these elements my viewers will come away with a rich and thoughtful experience.”

Winterhawke is looking for venues in which to show her work where she can incorporate audio and video into the exhibit. She also teaches her craft, often on a volunteer basis, and she donates her work to needy causes. She enjoys giving voices to others while continuing to speak through her own work. “Any kind of reaction is great,” she said.