Bookish Curiosities and Art for the Everyday
Hi, I’m Jessica Molnar, a fine artist, textile designer, and bibliophile. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been drawn to books, patterns, and textures. As a fairly nerdy child, I enjoyed things like reading the dictionary or hanging out in the library during recess, devouring anything macabre and magical I could find. My introspective, loner self loved to pass the time watching clouds morph or zoom in to a bug's eye view to examine moss and lichens.
After high school, I moved to San Francisco to go to the Academy of Art University, where I studied Textile Design, Printmaking and Book Arts. I volunteered at the San Francisco Center for the Book, took classes in traditional English bookbinding and restoration. After college, I worked in antique textile restoration and apprenticed with Peter Koch Printers, where I was introduced to the world of fine press books. It was around this time that friends started to get married and I started Odd Duck Press as a wedding invitation design studio while continuing to pursue Fine Art and Textile Design. I have exhibited my art in the San Francisco Bay Area, New Orleans, Seattle, Hawaii, New York, UK, and Germany. My work is held in the permanent collection at the Columbus Center for Paper and Book Arts.
I enjoy contrasting meticulous, finely crafted elements with happy accidents. I see this interplay as a dynamic element of life; forging ahead with free will and yet accepting the unexpected... celebrating the messy art of living a happy life. As far as I can tell, living, learning and creating are utterly inseparable. I live in rural Northwest Washington with my wonderful husband, Geoff and our sweet son.
