Jessica Driver grew up surrounded by creative and outside-of-the-box thinkers. Her parents were both avid “scrappers” who regularly sought out and found unwanted items and, seeing the potential in them, turned them into something new and loved. Her cousins, too, with whom she was raised, were and are, all of them, artists in their own way and are actively engaged in sharing and supporting their work and their creative processes with each other. Amidst this atmosphere, Jessica was bound to be a creative herself and has found herself constantly in the position to learn new skills and to develop her own talents.
Her own artistic pursuits took a more invested turn when her friend, Sonya, began digging up old and unusual bottles. Jessica took an interest in these and began to think about what might be done with them. Sonya challenged her to find some creative purpose for them, and so Jessica, accepting the challenge, turned them into a wall hanging, and the creative ideas just kept coming after that.
Jessica is a Virginia Master Naturalist and Master Gardener with experience as a zookeeper at an animal refuge. She is also a regular volunteer for the Dan River Basin Association and Camp Selah. Conservation and naturalism are in her blood; they advise the way she lives, how she works, and how she creates, and all three are intricately interlinked. Jessica is often involved with park cleanups, where she not only collects trash but also educates others on the importance of caring for our natural resources. And it is in the process of these cleanups that Jessica collects the resources for her creative works.
“My inspiration is breathing new life into things discarded and found during my trash cleanups,” she tells us. During her cleanups, Jessica collects bits of plastic and glass, aluminum from cans, and anything else that catches her imagination. Once her items are separated from that which she throws away and recycles, a long process of cleaning begins. She first bleaches the items, then hand washes them thoroughly. Once they are clean and dry, she cuts them into useable sizes and desirable shapes and then she designs jewelry and art pieces from the items, often inspired by things she sees posted on Pinterest where she herself has an account under The Nonstop Naturalist. Jessica sells the items she creates at River District Artisans, Main Street Art Collective, and Kirby Gallery in Roxboro. This spring she will begin offering her items at the South Boston Farmers Market. With the money she earns from her creations, she purchases outreach materials, things like trash grabbers, gloves, and other items she needs while volunteering for the Dan River Basin Association and Camp Selah.
“The need to create is in all of us, and the need for beauty is eternal,” Jessica says. She sees art as an integral part of Danville’s revitalization. She would like to see more opportunities for community involvement in the arts and hopes her work inspires people to reduce their waste, to recycle, upcycle, and to find creative and practical ways to be better stewards of our community.
If you wish to learn more about Jessica and her mission to encourage all to embrace Virginia’s wild beauty, you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook at the Nonstop Naturalist, or at her website nonstopnaturalist.wixsite.com/my-site. Be sure to visit Main Street Art Collective and River District Artisans to check out her work.
