Born in Bakersfield, California in 1981; I grew up in Taft, California. I graduated with a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) at CSU, Bakersfield last June 2008, and I am currently in a Master of Fine Arts program at Claremont Graduate University.

Since I began using my own body and face as the subject for my work, many of my life long feelings and attitudes are becoming part of what I am doing. I have developed style that derives the tension from using of face and body images that I communicate to the technical of academic painting.

In my experience growing up, I wished that I could fully participate in a wider variety of social activities with hearing people. I wanted more friends and acquaintances as well instead my communications with people were limited from one-on-one conversations. I dislike being unknown and feeling helpless to do anything about it. It was the worse feeling. I always believed there was something more that I could do to make a difference and overcome that barrier.

As an adult, many of these feelings are still linger, but now I am a deaf woman. I feel pride in the Deaf culture and sign language. I have become more fully aware of the meaning of being deaf in a hearing world. Being deaf has permeated every single of my life, but there is nothing I can do about it. It was like being surrounded by an invisible glass wall that made sound garbled like a blur. For a while, I got stuck in a dark world.

When I first started painting, I liked the inner excitement I felt. It made me feel at peace and free. Once I realized that I being an artist was something I could do, I started to take it seriously. My painting has given me an entry-point to a world where I can be myself as a deaf woman; this self that I have always known myself to be. It has allowed me to express my feelings from the world. The paintings are looking back at me expressing my feelings and experiences. My consciousness, inner conflicts, and compassion are becoming a part of what I am painting beyond the image of myself. My paintings are beyond the image of myself. My paintings are becoming maps to find my way personally, but it is also a connection to other people as the imprisoned soul.

“Painting is influenced by experiences and feelings; they cannot exist on their own and away from life. I wanted to be able to say something through my world that is hard to communicate through words. Painting is an independent language; my images occur over many years that I wanted to express my own feelings.”

- Jennifer Mitchell