JESSICA BRACCIO
-Jessica, we'd love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today, both personally and as an artist.
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I feel that I have wandered through life trying to find who I am and my purpose. I thought that I had decided on a life path with the conclusion of my doctoral program, however, the powers that be had other plans for me. My spiritual awakening happened in my last semester when I was writing my dissertation and planning my graduate art show. After that, I spent the next few years trying to make sense of everything, as well as why I am on earth.
My life changed profoundly in November 2019. It was the beginning of a series of events and descent into silence that would begin to course correct me. I chose to do spiritual coursework and in the long process, I began to unravel who I am not. One of the greatest gifts that I earned through coursework was rediscovering my Divinity. Reconnecting with the highest version of me outside of time and space had been beyond words. The joy and beauty that I saw within myself and for the world was breathtaking. I felt myself begin to stabilize and I questioned what I truly wanted with my life. The answer was that I wanted to once again create art.
Towards the end of 2021, my Divinity asked me to go back into art, something that I had abandoned several years earlier. I was told I had 2022 to create a portfolio and prepare. I didn't understand why, but I felt that by doing this, I would be moving towards something that I have waited for my entire life. Each day is uncertain and is an exercise in faith by moving forward, taking one step at a time. I don't always succeed, but I keep going.
-We love how art can serve as a therapeutic tool for healing. Can you share how your personal experiences have influenced your art and helped you find healing?
I have an academic background in art therapy, so naturally when I began to make art at a professional level, I chose to create from a space of trauma, wanting to process it. When I went through a spiritual awakening and "coming back on line" process, I was told to never create from a trauma space ever again. I didn't understand why until fairly recently. My Divinity has shown me that I am responsible for everything I create. The art that I make and the energy that it contains has an ability to ripple out into the world. If I create from a trauma space, the art can energetically make people sick and throw them off. If that happens, I'm responsible for that. If I create from a space of Divinity, using the highest frequencies that I can handle, that too, will ripple out into the world. The light and the beauty will touch people and create a space for healing. I truly believe beauty can heal. My art contains activations, which I learn through daily spiritual practices and through art creation. The creation process and calling in these activations help me heal. The light codes and activations in my art offer people a choice to heal as well.
-How has your perspective on neurodiversity changed over time, and how has it affected your art?
I have many neurodiversities, and one of which is autism. I used to view autism as a curse or some kind of punishment that God gave me. I used it as a crutch in life because I didn't want to take responsibility for myself. When I began spiritual coursework about three years ago, many aspects within myself shifted and it was almost like a blindfold being removed from my eyes. I learned so much about myself (and still learning) and one of the more important lessons was that I chose my life before I was born. I also learned that many "disorders" are actually spiritual gifts.
Autism is one of the greatest gifts I could have ever chosen for myself. According to my Divinity, without autism, I would not be able to create my art and in the manner that I do. I also think in shapes and colors. When I am receiving energetic codes from my Divinity, this is how it talks to me. It is a kaleidoscope of sacred geometry, light bursts and colors, as well as shapes that are not on earth.
For me, autism is a type of creative template that humanity, as a whole, does not fully understand just yet, but will. When I began to come into acceptance of my autistic template, I felt myself expand and my artwork open up and begin to go to another level. I felt more connected and synchronized with my Divinity and my creation process.