What Happened at the Patterns of Generation Art Show Opening

What Inspired This Show

Patterns of Generation: Healing Through What We Inherited began as a personal reckoning. My fellow artist Caroline Finnegan and I are both Liminal Latinas — neither fully from here nor fully from there — and we built this body of work from the threads of what we were given to heal from, and what we were given to heal with. We looked to our mothers, and the mothers before them, as a direct and sacred lineage of power.

The show is rooted in a simple but profound truth: we all inherit patterns. Some of them are beautiful. Some of them need to be examined, challenged, and transformed. And the work of healing those patterns — slowly, imperfectly, bravely — is some of the most important work any of us will ever do.

I am of Dominican descent. Both of my parents are Dominican, and I had the privilege of growing up in Santiago, Dominican Republic, where color, ritual, storytelling, and a certain kind of vibrant, tropical magic were woven into everyday life. It is no surprise that those threads show up in everything I paint, even outside of the oracle deck work. You can't grow up surrounded by that much life and color and not carry it in your hands.

How These Paintings Were Made

People were really drawn to the patterns in the artwork, and a few conversations turned funny when I explained that these paintings were my attempt at being wild and messy.

I know. I know.

Even my mess is polished. My inner perfectionist apparently doesn't take days off. But what was genuinely different about this process was the layering — a loose, messy wash of color first, then the patterns, then the portraits, then the gold accents. Each layer became a conversation. What comes next? What does she need?

I'm typically a planner. A figure-it-all-out-before-you-touch-the-canvas kind of painter. This collection asked me to trust the process instead, and I think you can feel that in the work.

Each painting took about a week. Five paintings in six weeks, while managing client work and the general demands of being a human adult. I'll take it!

The Portraits and the Women in Them

One of the questions I got asked most yesterday was whether these are self portraits, or portraits of people I know.

They are neither, though I've been told I look like all of my paintings — something in the eyes, apparently.

What actually happens is this: I search for reference photos that have something I like — a specific smile, the way a head is tilted, a particular quality of light on skin — and I loosely reference those photos until the final painting is completely unrecognizable from where it started. I change things, layer, think out loud with the paint until a new woman emerges. She is not me. She is not someone you know. She is someone we both recognize anyway.

Several people yesterday commented on the individual expressions in the portraits and how much each one communicated. That meant everything to me. Because these women are meant to be mid-transition — not before the healing, not after it, but right in the thick of it. Still carrying the old thing. Already reaching for something new. If you can see that in their faces, then the painting is doing exactly what it was meant to do.

People also noticed the connection to nature — the birds, the butterflies, the heron, the cheetah, the hummingbirds, the orchids. Nature has always been my co-creator. Every creature in these paintings chose to be there.

The Conversations That Stayed With Me

A mother and daughter stopped to talk with me, and I started off the conversation sharing some of my own complicated feelings about my mom and what had inspired the work. The daughter gave me this validating smirk — the universal expression of someone who completely understands. And then I kept talking, and I got to the part where I said that as much as my mom presses every single one of my buttons, she also inspires the hell out of me and pushes me every day to be better.

That's when the mom chimed in. They were mother and daughter.

I love when the art creates the exact conversation it was meant to create. That moment felt like a wink from the universe — a confirmation that these are important conversations, that this healing work matters, not just personally but collectively. We can't control other people. We can only control how we respond, how we show up, how much love and understanding we're willing to bring. But imagine — just imagine — what the world would look like if everyone committed to healing their own patterns and offering more compassion to the people around them.

That's what this show is really about.

I also had a beautiful conversation with a man who spent years doing mission work in Haiti. He pulled the Work Ethic card from my La Caribeña Oracle Deck and immediately felt the connection — to Haiti, to the Caribbean, to something deeply familiar in the imagery. I won't describe the card here. I'll just say: if you want to understand what he saw, you'll need to get the deck. 😉

The Space, The Team, The Magic

Caroline's heart pottery on the walls alongside my paintings felt like a sweet kiss of clay. The sprinkles on an ice cream. Her work is earthy, vibrant, patterned, and full of intention — and it brought a grounding, tactile energy to the space that perfectly balanced the paintings.

Hillary did oracle readings throughout the afternoon using my deck, and from what I saw and heard, people got exactly the guidance they needed. There is something so powerful about watching your work become a tool for someone else's healing in real time.

Naimie created the most beautiful Mother's Day floral arrangements that added another layer of beauty and softness to the whole space. The flowers, the pottery, the paintings, the readings — it all came together in a way that felt intentional, even sacred.

And Semilla Cafe + Studio — thank you for being the most perfect home for this show. I had their coffee once before and knew it would be good. The coconut latte yesterday did not disappoint. Highly recommend.

I was talking, engaging, answering questions, hearing people's stories the entire time. I didn't stop once. I forgot to take pictures in my blue dress with the large white leaf pattern — which, for the record, was stunning and very on theme. I didn't get a single photo with Caroline or with most of the people who came through.

But the conversations happened. The connections happened. The art reached people it was meant to reach — including people who had never met me in person, who found out about the show online and came anyway. That felt like validation of the highest order. This is what the art is for: to reach and connect the people who can benefit from its magic and medicine, whether in a deeply thought-provoking way or in the simple delight of seeing something colorful and alive on a wall.

Come See It For Yourself

The show is up at Semilla through June 12th. It's free to walk in, look at the art, and grab a coconut latte while you're there. I will be adding more photos over the next week as I visit Semilla again — I owe you images, and I intend to deliver.

I'll also be writing individual blog posts about each painting in the collection, so check back for those.

And if something called to you — online, in person, or somewhere in between — all of the pieces are available for purchase in my shop. You can also see them in person at Semilla through June 12th.

Every piece is waiting for the right home. Maybe that home is yours. 🌺

Show on view: May 10 – June 12, 2026 Semilla Cafe + Studio

1283 Main St, Hartford, CT

Free & Open to All

Shop the collection: https://www.jasleniart.com/shop