Meet Mollie Jackson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mollie Jackson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mollie, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

For me, a creative block is almost always my mind’s way of saying, slow down. It’s a signal that I need to step back and reset. When that happens, I don’t try to push through—I change gears. I might lean into something else I love, like yoga, design, or simply spending time with friends and family. Giving myself that space usually makes me miss painting enough that the creative energy returns on its own.

I also recently joined a creative journaling club where we respond to different prompts at each meet-up. It’s still an art practice, but with no pressure to show, sell, or impress—just a chance to play and reconnect with the joy of making. It’s been a great reminder that sometimes the best way through a block is to create something low-stakes, just for fun.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m a large-scale abstract painter, and my work is very process-driven. I build up layers with paint, collage, and mark making—often working on a whole series at once. It’s messy and physical, and I love how the materials respond when I stop trying to control the outcome.

Right now, I’m working on a series called Catharsis, which explores how art can be a tool for healing. The process of using paint to move through emotion and come out the other side feels especially meaningful to me.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My early training in representational work—portraits, figures, landscapes—taught me how to really see. Over time, I felt drawn to abstraction, which gave me a whole new freedom and became one of my great loves.

The three qualities that have carried me through are:

1. Curiosity – staying open to where the work wants to go.
2. Perseverance – there were stretches where painting had to take a backseat to life, but I always came back to it.
3. Letting go – of control, of expectations, of how I think the work “should” look.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone starting out: stay curious, give yourself permission to explore and get messy. Your voice will come through.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My mom, without a doubt. She was an artist and lived such a creative, fearless life. Before I was born, she and a friend opened a gallery in D.C., and at night they’d roll out their beds and sleep on the floor just to make it work.

Growing up, she brought me to her studio, let me use all her materials, and later taught me practical skills like how to stretch a canvas—something I’m now trying to relearn on my own with her gone. I’d spend hours copying her record album covers and poring over her massive art book collection. I remember being most drawn to Kiefer, Klimt, and Basquiat. They showed me that great artists could be wildly different from one another, but all fearless in their own way—just like her. That gave me permission to follow my own path.

I was lucky—many parents might hesitate to encourage a child to pursue art. Mine never did. My mom understood it deeply, and my dad has given me unwavering support from the start. That’s a gift I’ll never take for granted.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://molliejackson.carbonmade.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/molliejacksonart/?hl=en