HOPE THROUGH ART

The first text message from a woman living in Ireland to Highland Park artist Jessica Kaplan pinged several years ago. The woman wanted to praise and thank Kaplan for brightening her life after months of steady gloom.

They had never met in person.

They had never spoken on the phone.

The life-changing elixir for the Irishwoman was simply viewing online posts of Kaplan’s moving artwork—mainly large-scale abstract expressionist paintings.

“Her life,” Kaplan recalls, “was falling apart. She texted, ‘Your art makes me feel so good.’ My work has been bought by collectors in Australia and in London. That’s such a high honor, having my art in homes of people I don’t know. But, to me, what the lovely lady from Ireland texted is the biggest compliment ever.”

Creating art can be comforting too. Kaplan has been afflicted with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), or myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), for 20 years. ME is a complex chronic disease that devastates the lives of millions around the world. According to the site meaction.net, the average person with ME scores as more disabled on quality of life surveys than those with multiple sclerosis, stroke, diabetes, renal failure, lung disease, heart failure, and cancer.

“When I was living in Chicago (circa 2009), I saw paintings online and then went to a store and bought a bunch of paint,” says Kaplan, who grew up in Highland Park and attended Deerfield High School, where she performed in theatre productions. “That’s how it all started. I didn’t know what I was doing at first. But I liked painting when I found it to be both a release and therapeutic. Painting still takes me away; I get lost when I paint.

“It’s personal,” she adds. “My artwork is emotional, because what you see after it’s finished usually reveals how I felt while creating it.”

Next month, for the first time in her career, Kaplan will paint live for waves of outdoor audiences. She was selected as one of more than a dozen artists for the inaugural International Mural Fest in Highwood June 6 through June 9. Prolific artists—including graffiti and street artists— from all over the world will showcase the richness, diversity, inclusivity, and creativity of the Highwood community via their craftsmanship that will develop—in real time—on Highwood buildings, including Public Works, The Recreation Center, Bocce Club, Historical Society, and Buffo’s.

The art created by Kaplan and a handful of other artists, however, won’t adorn the exterior of a building. Kaplan will work for many hours a couple of days on that weekend to make a four-foot-by-five-foot panel come alive as an engaging art installation. As a mixed media artist, she uses acrylic paint, spray paint, and ink, among other materials. Her finished product and those of others will be auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting The Art Center of Highland Park.

“It’s going to be so cool and amazing, all of these artists sharing their vibrant art for four days and brightening up Highwood,” Kaplan says of the all-ages, Celebrate Highwood- run fest, which also will feature handson activities for attendees, live music, food and drink vendors, an outdoor bar, and a full carnival. “I was thrilled when Lulu asked me to be a part of the fest, but it certainly will be challenging to paint while people watch me.”

Lulu is Highwood native and art dealer and collector Laura Reich of Collect with Lulu, a New York City-based curator. Collect with Lulu combined forces with Koz and his Silvertuna Studios, a New York City-based production company that specializes in the arts, to select the fest’s superstar artists.

Chicago-area artists slated to beautify the City of Highwood include Ruben Aguirre, Asend One, Anna Murphy, Dont Fret, E. Lee, and Stuk One. So is Eelco, a Dutch painter, muralist, and illustrator.

“We are passionate about public art, knowing what a difference the beauty of art can make in our daily lives,” Reich said in a statement. “Bringing artists to create these murals will be a positive experience highlighting a city I love, while supporting small businesses. Highwood is such a gem, and being a part of its transformation into an arts destination is a dream come true.”

Kaplan’s dream, beginning at the age of 5, was to become a movie actor. Her favorite flick as a youngster was Beaches, starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. She has watched it more than a few times and has cried while viewing it the same number of times. Kaplan received a degree in theater at the University of Kansas and spent more than seven years in California, where she did voice overs for commercials, including a pair of McDonald’s ads, and owned an airbrush spray tan business called Golden Touch Tan.

Among her pleased clients were Paris Hilton and Khloe Kardashian.

In 2008 she moved to Chicago and soon discovered that decorating canvases that don’t have heartbeats had the potential to be a highly fulfilling endeavor.

“Art is a tough business,” admits Kaplan, who now calls Highland Park home again and visits Arizona regularly with her biggest fans, parents Allen and Cheryl. “But I consider it fun too. A fun painting to me is a bright one. Bright means hope to me. I painted the word ‘love’ 100 times for one of my bright paintings.

“I love it when others interpret my art and want to discuss it with me,” she continues. “Art—and I’m not just talking about painting— has this wonderful way of connecting us all.”

For more information about the International Mural Fest, visit celebratehighwood.org. For more information about efforts to raise awareness for myalgic encephalomyelitis, visit meaction.net. To see Jessica Kaplan’s artwork, visit jessicakaplanart.com.