Meet Jessi

Jessi Helmrich is a Charleston, South Carolina based artist originally from the Upstate. She received her BFA with a concentration in painting from Clemson University in 2016. Immediately following graduation, she moved her roots to Charleston. Originally starting in the food and beverage industry, she focused on using her extra time to make art and connections and was able to begin solely freelancing in March of 2017.

Jessi’s true love is painting, but it has evolved more specifically into painting murals. She loves the physicality of being able to work large scale and how monumental and potent an image becomes when it is larger than yourself. Although her content does not allude to feminism, one motive for striving to be a muralist is that the public art world is male-dominated. She does not view this as a negative thing, but has recognized the reality of it and its need for change. She wants to be amongst the other women who are trying to push to work larger and larger, gaining more exposure, and encouraging other women who dream of this to do the same.

Something that Jessi wants to continue to capitalize more often through her work is addressing the many types of creatives and makers in the world. The most obvious form of a creative person is a visual artist, but creativity takes on so many forms, some less obvious than others. Her long-term goal is to take this concept and apply it to her personal works and murals all around the world.

Although Jessi has her own artistic ventures and pursuits, she also enjoys working with commercial clients to translate or help them create their brand through the language of art. She enjoys the challenge of stretching her creative mind to concoct imagery that she otherwise would not have explored and being a part of new businesses as they journey through preparations for opening.

Jessi’s philosophy, above all, is to never stop learning, especially from others, always try new techniques and mediums, and always go after opportunities, even if they are intimidating. This is where she believes artistic growth and accomplishment flourish.