the largest installation yet

and there are prints happening when the sun shines

Hello there! It's Jocelyn Mathewes from my studio in Appalachia. And earlier this month I drove down to Lake City, SC to deliver my work for the Artfields Festival and competition.

Started in 2013, this tiny town hosts hundreds of artists and their works from all over the southeast for Artfields. The whole place turns into a sprawling art gallery, with venues all up and down and around town—the largest one being a repurposed tobacco barn called the ROB.

Here's a timelapse of the installation of Para(site)dise at the ROB —

This is the largest installation of Para(site)dise to date. It’s thrilling! (And thanks to the generous Adrian Rhodes for helping me install the work!)

Para(site)dise installed for Artfields 2025, 32’ x 8’.

In addition to some really exciting cash prizes, there's a People's Choice award. If you happen to stop by Artfields in person, you can vote for me by texting the ID number 256655 to the Artfields voting number 843-647-6780 after registering to vote. Big thanks if you do! ✨🙏 ✨

the biggest wall i’ve ever done

Every installation of Para(site)dise is different. For Artfields, the plan was to install Para(site)dise on an 8’ high and 16’ long wall at the ROB.

I arrived on a sunny morning with my bins full of components. As I turned the corner at the ROB, the guest designer for the venue points towards a long, white expanse opposite a the beautiful brick exterior wall.

It’s an ideal spot in the flow of the space to encounter the piece — a bit of a surprise, and a visitor can follow it like a path towards the next area full of sculpture.

But my heart jumped in my throat when I realized I got a wall twice the length of what I planned. I started to panic.