Jessica Lynn Jefferies Gambino has been called "GICA" by her siblings since childhood. It is no coincidence that her art is still recognized by that name because, in truth, art is who Gica is. Her only interest from childhood to this very day has always only been to express herself through art and to express her life artistically. She began signing her pieces in those days as "Gica" and still does today. Her work constitutes a body of art that spans sixty years and reflects not only a lifetime of creativity, but a lifetime of contributions to the important industry of art.
She was the go-to gal at Marycrest High School in Denver, Colorado whenever anyone needed something created. Girls had her doing posters for special events, calligraphy for their graduation cards, she won first place in "Stars of Tomorrow" music contest, and she designed the cover for "Reflections", the school yearbook in her junior and senior years. When her schoolmates became wives, they called upon her to make their wedding dresses, beautifully embroidered silk, lace, or velvet garments.
She comes from a family of successful and famous artists. Her uncle, Matt Jefferies created and designed the famous Starship Enterprise which now hangs in the Smithsonian Institute and was art director on Star Trek, Dallas, Little House on the Prairie" and Love American Style. Her uncle Phillip M. Jefferies was nominated for an Oscar as art director for Tom Sawyer and was the art director for numerous films and television programs including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Cowboys, Manchurian Candidate, Sometimes a Great Notion, and many more. Her uncle Jack Jefferies was the production designer for McClintock and other TV series.
She is widely traveled and her art reflects many of the places she visited or lived. Her Africa series of exquisite watercolors depicts native Africans and native African animal life. Her "Jat Woman" from Romania and her "Bejeweled Moroccan Woman" with elaborate detail are outstanding pieces. Her Rocky Mountain Colorado past spurred her interest in and love for Native Americans. 'The Encounter", which depicts a Native American on one side of a fence and a cowboy on the other - two worlds colliding - is pregnant with symbolism and history.
Jessica is a winner in every creative thing she does. First prize in Jefferson County (JeffCo) muffin contest. Frist prize in the "Stars of Tomorrow'. First and third prizes in a Mississippi Cattlewoman's Beef Cookoff Contest. Two published recipes in Good Morning America's Cut-the-Calories Cookbook. Recipe endorsement in Better Homes and Gardens for Corned Beef Pie. Cash prize from Better Homes and Gardens for garden journal idea.
Her creative talents extend to music as well as art. She wrote all the music and some of the lyrics for all five of the original JKRose Undiscovered Gold albums (86 songs).
Her current project is what she calls "The Barefoot Series". To date eight 36X36 oil on canvas paintings by GicaArt. With an emphasis of barefoot couples working and reacting together. Expressionist style in the sense of portraying motion and emotion. Vibrant. Brilliant. Sensitive.
Her life itself is a work of art (not for sale however); and she would tell you that her greatest work and most beautiful artistic creation is her marriage to her husband, Joseph. The art which emanates from her is nothing less than an outpouring of love. With every stitch of a quilt, with every stroke of her brush, indeed, with every breath she takes, art pours forth in a spectacular array of beauty and grace. As suggested, all of her art is not for sale; but those pieces that she does make available will provide the collector/owner with the promise of decades and perhaps even centuries of that love and beauty.
