Second generation New York born, Florida Coast grown, ex-Asia expat returned to the States, Jessica Valderrama focuses on place and time as a way to understand her biography and then as a way to connect to others. Personal and intimate, her work ranges from Southern landscapes to snapshots of a Korean street scene to sensitive line drawings of her sleeping toddler.

Jessica has attended both in person Artist/Mother Podcast retreats and participated in their (and later the Thrive Network’s) virtual residencies and the Taking Up Space initiative. Post Covid she founded the Re:Merge Artist Collective to support local professional artists through group shows, monthly meetings, critique sessions, and professional development opportunities. Re:Merge also hosts an annual summer residency. Jessica studied art in and outside of school starting in her early childhood and received a BA majoring in Fine Art from Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL. She is currently living with her partner and young child in Metro Atlanta, GA.