“Have you seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind?” Juditta Musette asked during our interview at her home studio in Newport.
“Sure.”
“You know the mashed potato scene…”
During the scene, Richard Dreyfuss is having dinner with his wife and two kids. Dreyfuss scoops mashed potatoes from a big serving bowl onto his plate. Something has taken over his body as he piles on more mashed potatoes. After that, he takes his fork and begins to sculpt the potatoes. All the while, his character is compelled to do this. He doesn’t know why, but he has no choice.
“…well that’s me.” Musette continues, “I have to create. If all I had was mashed potatoes I’d make art out of mashed potatoes!”
Meeting Musette, seeing her artwork, and talking about her life and art, is an “encounter” in its own right. I instinctively know it’s a moment that will change my Close Encounters viewing experience forever. I’ll never look at that scene the same again. Musette has had a long and varied career. She has redefined herself as an artist and changed style and materials several times. The cover for this issue resembles several drawings she’s published in Motif before. You can find them under the collective title “Friends with Jelly.”
This series started when she was in Bermuda on vacation. She traveled with the idea that she would “do nothing,” only rest and relax. However, she quickly realized her “do nothing” mantra was unrealistic. Before long, she was on the hunt for art supplies. Inside a drawer she finds art materials for kids. Musette takes out #2 pencils, crayons, and magic markers. What emerges is a delightful, slightly creepy collection of drawings in sketchbooks and on loose sheets of paper. Each piece depicted aquatic interactions between figures that are somewhat human and somewhat sea creature.
As I thumbed through the large stack of comics, I chuckled more than once to myself. However, I also wanted to study each more deeply. There is something about Musette’s art that invites thoughtfulness. One characteristic of her work is that the surface is gorgeous, but underneath is a whole realm of work begging to be appreciated. Musette’s attention-grabbing painting, “Deep,” shows a mermaid and an octopus swimming together. The octopus’s tentacles are wrapped around the mermaid’s tail, arms, and neck. The intent is unclear. Is it seduction or a struggle?
When I ask Musette, she says, “The mermaid is entangled but not ensnared.”
Musette uses the innocence of cartoons to teach concepts such as speciesism, colonialism, and tourism. In her early career, Musette worked in watercolors and strived to create photo-realistic images. Through a very challenging set of circumstances, her entire portfolio ended up in the Johnston Landfill. She was devastated but also strangely inspired. She knew she would go on making art and vowed to work more openly and spontaneously.
Now, she paints without a roadmap. She applies lines, colors, and texture without preconceived notions of the end result. Trusting the artistic process and allowing yourself the uncontrolled release of creative energy is daunting, especially when you are unclear about what will come out on the other side. Musette laughs, “Yes. It is. But if you’re willing to take the journey, you’ll end up someplace you’ve never imagined!”
Musette takes me into another room and shows me a large, dreamy painting.
“This is my favorite painting I’ve ever created!” Perhaps it is a seascape, but other interpretations are possible. If it is a body of water we are looking at, three shiny red orbs are floating close to the shore. The tide may be about to wash them up on the beach. “This painting is all about potential,” Musette says. “What these are is a mystery. What is going to happen is unknowable.”
