Acrylic paint on paper, 9 x 12 in., 2020.

Signed by the artist.

Part of the Stardust Studies

Original handmade paintings by Jenny Lam.

“Resilient. Loved. Those were the first words that came to mind when presented with You Are Beautiful’s blank ‘You Are __________’ board for their 2020 Virtual Winter Exhibition. But then, as I was playing around with my paints (in case I was a little rusty—I hadn't painted in over a decade! what better way to get back into it than such an inspiring prompt), something else came to me. What both humbles and empowers me, makes me feel small in the best way and makes me feel part of something bigger than all of us, something greater than all of this, is space, the stars. Always has been that way—refer to this page of my diary from when I was 13. ‘We are made of star-stuff,’ Carl Sagan said. ‘We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.’ That fact has always comforted me, and I think we all need to be reminded of it in these times. You are stardust.”

Jenny created these as tests / practice on paper before making the jump to You Are Beautiful’s board, but oftentimes the initial sketch can be just as, well, beautiful as the final draft. Own a piece of this unique glimpse into an artist’s creative process, development of an idea, and evolution of a work!