Jennifer Delabra is a senior at Valdosta State University and she will be graduating in the fall of 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in fine arts. Her work as well as others seniors’ work can be viewed in Valdosta State’s virtual exhibition called Living in Color. Like the other artist Delebra had a theme in which she based her artworks around. Her theme revolves around exploring the parts of herself that she doesn’t allow anyone else to see and instead of hiding them she chooses not to hold them in any longer. She chooses instead of hiding from herself she chooses to embrace herself, faults and all.
Delebra’s art is used for self expression and turns self hate into something more therapeutic for her. Instead of letting her negative self projections hinder her, she turns it into something to celebrate and embrace. The reason, she states, she is drawn to the subject is because it is something that is hard for her to confront. She finds herself being often called negative and that this is very much in her element. She states what inspires her is the drive to constantly become a better person and learning to love herself. She is also inspired by deep emotions and how an artwork makes the viewer feel.
Delebra works with mediums like jewelry, metalsmithing, and printmaking because it is the mediums she feels the most comfortable with. It gave her a new view of art and said drawing and painting was never something she enjoyed. Finding her preferred medium in the creative process became more therapeutic for her and a true way to express herself. In a way it ties in with her theme of self acceptance and finding her truth.
Some works that are in the show like Fear, Wannabe, BackFat, and Oink Oink are all works that deal with concepts of self hate and battling insecurities that Delebra struggles with on a day to day basis.
One of Delebra’s favorite pieces of hers in the show is One More Chance because it gives her hope that she never would have imagined would come from her. She also stated she enjoyed the printmaking process and the storytelling she was able to achieve. Additionally, it is also one of her favorites because she feels like it opened up some positivity in her that she didn’t know she possessed
Delebra’s work stood out to me because of the raw emotion it conveyed. You can really see the progression of her slowly becoming more comfortable with who she is from each work and it is powerful to see. I also just really enjoy the concept of it being about embracing and loving herself for who she is and to not be her own worst critic. Self acceptance and the idea of constantly improving yourself is such a powerful theme and her love of art shines when you look at her work.
