Jessica Sandacz
I am currently a graduate Research Fellow at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago studying Art Therapy. I hope to specialize in therapy for sexual assault victims and rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injuries. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Sam Rosby, Dr. Kelly Page, and Dr. Edward Rossini for their unconditional support of my art and research these past years; if I have seen further than others, it has been by standing upon the shoulders of giants (Sir Isaac Newton).
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An in-depth look at their work:
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Shattered Wonderland is inspired by the movie Alice in Wonderland. My idea was that Alice’s mirror shatters and pieces of her Wonderland fall through the looking glass and create a broken stack on the floor. It is meant to feel dystopic as if the whimsical parts of childhood make-believe have abruptly ended--a death of innocence and imagination.
Shattered Wonderland combines hand-building and wheel throwing. I came to the Glenn O. Reeser studio as a wheel thrower; however, after a wrist injury, I was forced to attempt hand-building and absolutely fell in love with it.
The pieces that make up Wonderland are positioned carefully and stacked together to construct the artwork. It is high-fired with a base of iron oxide and a top layer of hand mixed acrylic and spray paint. I am proud to say “I was schooled in the Reeser.”
A very special thank you to Pam Phillips, Kevin Coderre, Olivia Zubko, Doug Tabb, Janice Kostelny, Mara Brennan, Pam Russell, and Leila Ellis-Nelson for continuously being my sounding board for ideas in the studio.
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Inspired by true events, Sex Among the Corpses tells the story of overcoming a sexual trauma. It touches upon the issue of discussing a first sexual experience with friends, which society places an inordinate amount of emphasis on for females; it also shows glimpses of the victim’s internal struggle with guilt, blame, and learning how to cope with what has happened. And finally, once the protagonist in the poem discovers that her attacker has died, she is left on her own to find a way to create closure.
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This poem is lovingly dedicated to victims of sexual assault.