Los Angeles based artist Jessica Seeley creates original paintings and crystal jewelry with a rare neurological condition that enables her to physically see sound vibrations. The condition, known as “Synesthesia”, affects a very small portion of the population and has been described by the medical community as secondary sense manifested in the brain. Seeley considers her unique aptitude for sound sight as a gift, and uses it to produce beautiful works of art while listening to various styles of music. With a body of work ranging from sound inspired drawings to intentional stone necklaces, the spiritual aspect of synesthesia is best described by Seeley as “the intangible world of vibration and sound that connect us all”. I discovered this goddess of sound through her energetically charged crystal jewelry and found her journey into art to be both exceptional and inspirational. By accepting a path of healing others through her extra sensory perception, Seeley offers her unique talents to the world.
1. When did you first discover you could see the vibrations of music?
I have always seen sound as transparent hues of color. Sound appears to me as currents that grow shapes and texture based on the tambour. I remember in high school listening to The Rolling Stones and trying to explain it to my friends. I saw warm rusty reds and sharp dusty yellow oozing and then sharply whipping into the most exciting lines I had ever experienced. My friends thought I was being poetic. But in actuality, up until that point I assumed everyone experienced music that way. In my senior year of college I was in a lecture course called “Music and the Mind” which focused on how the brain experiences music. I learned that some people tasted sound and others saw colors. One of our required readings had a chapter in it about Synesthesia. I knew then that I was different.
2. What do different variations of musical sounds look like?
Well, right now I hear a siren in the distance. It is a deep hot yellow with a searing red ripple. It’s like an explosion of sound. It’s hard to describe, easier to draw. There’s a Bob Dylan acoustic song that is just gorgeous. The guitar strums are stark steel silver to burnt sienna. The lines are like lightening. They fade and are reborn, running together like water dancing over grey pavement in fierce rain, touching every crevice of the street. The polyps of sound grow like orbs. The lines are graceful and intricate. There’s a center line driving through the whole song, the constant heart beat of the guitar. I wish everyone could see music. It’s really a spiritual experience.
3. Are there other ways your synesthesia manifests as a spiritual experience?
Definitely. I choose music for different types of manifestation. There are so many levels of sound. I meditate and open my chakras by breathing deep into each one with sound energy. I allow the light, color and shape of the sound to move through my chakras until each one is awake, like an energized root of sound in my entire body. Life is constantly vibrant and alive to me. I always carry a pen to release the sounds that are most inspiring. I just listen and draw the intangible world of vibrations of sound that connect us all to each other. On a cellular level we are just one evolved mass of moving intricate shapes that fit into each other and build one completely connected self. The sound shapes of music do the same thing. It’s just one long line needing to grow from the other.
4. How did you become interested in the power of stones and crystals?
Stones actually found me. One of my dearest of friends back east was hurting deeply and I wanted to wrap my arms around her and be there. I couldn’t afford a flight or get the time off work. I happened to pass by a crystal store while walking home one night and I was drawn in like a magnet. I found a fossilized shell that was broken to reveal finite sparkling clear white crystals at its heart center. The shell was from the coast of Somalia and had been deep in the earth, evolving through time. My friend and I had grown up together near the ocean, and I immediately felt this crystal shell had a connection to her. I added other stones to support her in my absence, wrapping each one with concentrated love and strength. I sent it off with words I wished to say in person and a description of each stone, explaining its healing properties. Before sending it, I wore it around areas in my life where goodness flowed to charge the stones with happiness and love. Synesthesia plays a big part in the crystal work I do as well. I wrap stones while listening to music, and the vibrations inspire me to create.
5. Have you received any feedback that your intentional jewelry has an effect on people?
I have, and all of it has been unique to the wearer. One client told me of astral travel in dreams she experienced while wearing black obsidian, lapis lazuli and white selenite. I once made a piece for a musician with blue kyanite which opens the throat chakra. He says he has been singing with renewed passion. Recently my boyfriend and I went to Texas. His friend was recovering in the hospital from a tragic accident, so I gave him a raw piece of chrysocolla with white selenite. He isn’t able to wear it yet but it’s hanging in his hospital room. He says he feels the love. I have two necklaces of my own I wear everyday that bring me great balance, inspiration, and appreciation for life. I believe in the power of the stones. They’re our assistants, serving as a constant reminder of our soul’s purpose. They help us to conquer our destiny. If you are willing to wear them, they are happy to work for you.
For more information or to shop online contact www.ethosartgallery.com or 4artmedia@gmail.com. Instagram @jbird888
