Written by My name is Jésica Frustaci and I was born on July 1, 1984 in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. When I was a little girl, I liked to draw a lot and also make crafts. I liked to make sculptures in clay and then paint them. I drew most of the time.
At the age of ten, I discovered a book on the archeology of Egypt in my school library. There I learned what archeology was and decided that I wanted to be an archaeologist. As well as drawing, I was studying archeology on my own. That was my routine, besides going to school, between the ages of ten and eighteen.
At the age of eighteen, I entered the University, I studied anthropology with guidance in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Buenos Aires. It was one of the happiest times of my life. Since I dedicated a lot of time to archaeology, I stopped drawing, except when I had to draw in some subject.
After a few years, I started to work in a research team that was dedicated to urban archaeology. At first I was very excited. I started digging, writing scientific papers and I felt valued and recognized. But little by little everything changed. My chief of investigation and my colleagues began to attack me, insult me (especially as a woman), interfered in my private life and, although I protested, they did not stop. I didn’t want to leave my job, but I felt worse and worse working there. After three years, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to quit.
I continued studying, but without the motivation of before. Then came the anxiety and depression. A year later, I abandoned my career and my childhood dreams. The next seven years were torture: I had nightmares every day. Every day, I dreamed of the things they said to me, of the insults.
I started doing psychological therapy. I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and the psychologist recommended that I do an artistic activity to release the pain. It took me three more years to start painting. But after I started, I couldn’t stop anymore. I started reading how to paint with watercolor and fell in love with it.
Then I tried other mediums and chose inks as a secondary medium. But I wouldn’t change watercolor for anything. I love Winsor & Newton, Faber-Castell, Reeves, Lyra and Koh-i-Noor, watercolors and watercolor pencils. I love papers made by Plantec.
Now I am a self-taught artist. I participate in a lot of exhibitions, contests and publications of art. What I tell in my work is my experience of pain after having abandoned my previous career due to the harassment of my colleagues. That harassment was moral and sexual.
That experience changed me a lot as I began to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome. I started painting on the recommendation of my therapist. My works speak of my years of suffering. They also talk about my recovery as a person and as a woman. My works speak of my faith, which also helped me in this process.
My inspiration comes from faith, the beauty and dignity of women, from nature, from art itself.
Jésica Frustaci
Instagram
Facebook
Kaleido
Your bold, bright color palette captures the eye, and I think it says something about your strength, that your paintings speak to me of healing rather than the suffering that made it necessary.
Sandra: Thank you so much. It is a hard story but I became a painter because of that, and that is good.
Jesica (I don’t have the accent on my machine to put over the “e”) when someone acts like that towards you it means they are insanely jealous. You are obviously more intelligent than they. How stupid and go-nowhere can they be! I would love to say that behaviour is not tolerated here in Canada but unfortunately bad things and bad people know no boundaries.
Smart psychologist encouraging you do do art! Absolutely and your work is wonderful.
Take care and keep on doing your splendid works!
Thank you so much for your comment!
Beautiful
Thank you Brenda!