Jessica Cardelucci - Artist

Have you ever wondered how an artist's past informs their current digital masterpieces? NFT virtuoso Jessica Cardelucci joins us to unravel her fascinating evolution from a tech and photography enthusiast to a pioneer in the NFT art space. Her story is a tapestry woven from threads of curiosity, sparked by Kevin Abash's "Forever Rose" and nurtured in the midst of pandemic-driven Clubhouse conversations. Jessica opens up about the trials and triumphs of collecting art and the emotional aspects of creating in a digital community. This episode is a rare opportunity to grasp the essence of blending traditional art with innovative blockchain technology, as well as to appreciate the genuine human connections that sustain artists through market fluctuations.

Crafting art is an addictive endeavor, a sentiment Jessica Cardelucci knows all too well. As she shares in our discussion, her journey through photography and art has been one of persistence and adaptation. Her project "Plates" is a testament to this; it is where the tangible allure of traditional photography meets the immutable nature of blockchain. For anyone navigating the labyrinth of the NFT realm, Jessica's pearls of wisdom on research and instinct are invaluable. She details the technical and emotional investments artists make, from smart contract deployment to the digital presentation of their legacy, reminding us all that art, at its core, is a profoundly personal pursuit.

This episode isn't just a window into Jessica Cardelucci's world; it's a reflection of the arts community at large, underscored by the shared experiences at events like NFT LA. As Jessica weaves her narrative, she offers a broader perspective on the undervaluation of photography in the digital marketplace and the contrarian joy of collecting pieces that resonate on a personal level. If you've ever felt drawn to the confluence of art and technology or have yearned to understand the emotional layers behind an NFT, prepare to be intrigued and inspired by the creativity and community shared within this conversation.

https://twitter.com/CARDELUCCI

Transcript

NorCal Guy: 0:01

Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy?

Jessica Cardelucci: 0:08

NorCal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal and chill podcast.

NorCal Guy: 0:18

So it's chill time. Norcal and chill podcast. What the fuck, what the chill? Norcal and chill podcast. So it's chill time. Norcal and Shill Podcast. What the sh-, what the sh-? Norcal and Shill Podcast. So it's Shill time. Norcal and Shill Podcast. What the sh-, what the sh hey, everyone, welcome back to NorCal and Shill. Today's episode.

NorCal Guy: 0:37

We have the pleasure of speaking with the incredibly talented Jessica Cartolucci. Jessica walked us through her fascinating journey into the world of crypto art and NFTs, a path that began with her interest sparked by Kevin Abash's Forever Rose and deepened during the peak of the COVID pandemic through conversations on Clubhouse. Despite being initially bewildered by concepts like NFTs and OpenSea, jessica's tech and photography background helped her navigate the complex world of digital ledger technology. She reflected on her passion for photography that began in childhood and has evolved significantly since then. Jessica and I shared our experiences collecting art, touching upon the value and challenges within the NFT space and the importance of the art community. She offered sage advice to emerging artists diving into the NFT realm, emphasizing the need for research and trust in one's gut instinct.

NorCal Guy: 1:43

We also learned about Jessica's personal life, her love for Southern California and the work life balance she maintains. Jessica talked about her project plates, which combines traditional photography aesthetics with modern blockchain technology for archiving her work. To conclude, we touched on the technical difficulties artists face, like using hardware wallets, and the importance of personal connections within the art community. It was a great conversation full of insight. Everybody, please welcome Jessica Cartolucci. Hey, jessica, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Jessica Cardelucci: 2:21

Good morning. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be on here.

NorCal Guy: 2:25

Thanks, yeah, I'm glad as well. We have had some good times in LA once.

Jessica Cardelucci: 2:35

Twice, three times, I think.

NorCal Guy: 2:37

Oh well, yeah, true, true. But the one time was because we had lunch with Ayla, I think it was.

Jessica Cardelucci: 2:46

Was there someone? Else there Maybe not, I think it was just you, ayla, and I. She's amazing, I love her.

NorCal Guy: 2:51

She's a good. She's a good person. And then we went to go find something that Cosimo was like hey, come and do this or something, get tickets. And then we walked around trying to find this building for a while.

Jessica Cardelucci: 3:04

We did. I notoriously dragged you through all of downtown LA, yes, to find a ticket, and it was quite hilarious. I thought it was a few blocks away and who knows how far we walked. I was so embarrassed. I was like he's never. He's going to think I'm the weirdest person ever. And that's the end of that.

NorCal Guy: 3:23

Right, right and then last year at NFT LA.

Jessica Cardelucci: 3:29

Yes, yeah, it was at the Crypt Gallery.

NorCal Guy: 3:31

Yeah, the Crypt Gallery In.

Jessica Cardelucci: 3:32

Hollywood, yeah, which was an awesome show. I met so many of you there and it was a really great time.

NorCal Guy: 3:37

It was awesome, it was great. Oh, that was when I was like, hey, you were like my backup because you helped me save my butt, because Prav, which is my good, a good friend, who I didn't hear him introduce himself because he's a non but he said, hey, I'm Prav, or something, and I was like, oh, and then I was like, hey, who was that? And then you're like, oh, that's Pravin. And I was like I didn't even hear, was that? And then you're like, oh, that's Pravin. And I was like I didn't even hear you either. And then he showed me his picture and I was like, oh, I have to go say hi again because I definitely was like didn't, went over my head. But yeah, that was a great night.

Jessica Cardelucci: 4:17

That was so funny and that happens to me so many times at IRL events. It's like you've never seen someone face to face. At IRL events. It's like you've never seen someone face-to-face. You don't always know what they look like, especially if they're more non. But you know, all through this industry we've become friends and it's so funny to like see them in person and not put it together. You know, maybe not know the exact pronunciation of the name, but yeah, I just remember that You're like who is that that you were just talking to or just with and I with?

Jessica Cardelucci: 4:45

And I was like who out of all these people, what I think you pointed at? I was like oh, and I showed you the profile yeah, it was super loud in there and then you were like oh, my gosh, and I was glad you made the connection. He's such an awesome guy. And then you guys notoriously ditched me and went and got dinner and I just gave you the hardest time. After that, which was hilarious, I think I texted or I messaged one of you and was like I couldn't find find you. I just wanted to say bye, like it was great seeing you both. And then you wrote back and like we thought you bailed on us and I was like no, I'm five foot two, I'm just hard to find in a crowd. Very true, I just had to give you guys a hard time.

NorCal Guy: 5:16

So yeah, prav and I went and grabbed burgers and I feel like there was one other person there, but I'm not sure. I feel like. I feel like there was. I'm forgetting on who it was, but we were looking for you and we couldn't find you anywhere like, I guess she was there, I guess she left, so we went and grabbed burgers next time but yeah, great times, great memories, good people. It's awesome. It's awesome the connections you can make through this space.

Jessica Cardelucci: 5:47

It really is, and that's probably my favorite part of being here is obviously the art. But you know, I think the people make it so much more worthwhile and make you want to stay and continue creating and it's just, it's its own little community and I know we say that a lot, but it's really true. I feel like the people, the artists, the collectors, even just the people on the side cheering us all on, it's been really. It's more amazing than I expected. The people that I've met through this industry. A lot of them feel like lifelong friends.

Jessica Cardelucci: 6:15

You know fellow artists, acquaintances and people that you know I hope to keep in touch with for years to come, and it's really amazing that we all feel a part of this movement together, each in our own little way. But I came really excited about the art and the tech, like I've always been kind of a tech person and love photography my whole life. So seeing them merge in this industry was something that really excited me and I actually didn't expect like the social part and the networking and the friendships to come out of it like they did. So it's really been like the cherry on top that keeps me coming back and wanting to stay more, even though it truly was the art and the tech that initially drew me in.

NorCal Guy: 6:50

For sure, for sure. No, I feel that a lot Because it did take me a little bit to make the connection of like why this is important and I jumped in and then, yeah, the friends that you make like just great people here and I'm glad to have met them and have them around. Um, so do you have a hardware wallet?

Jessica Cardelucci: 7:19

I do. I didn't start with one, though that was a mistake. Well, nobody tells you when you sign up. I mean, I think it's something that a lot of new artists obviously do. I was new to crypto, so I know some artists that at least been in the industry for a while until they, you know, came to the art side. I completely had zero exposure to crypto before, so made a wallet, minted the work, thinking like, oh, I know the hardware wallets, crypto before. So made a wallet, minted the work, thinking like, oh, I know the hardware wallets are safer, I'll wait until you know, maybe I've sold enough and have enough funds and then invest in one and take the extra step.

Jessica Cardelucci: 7:53

But then what we all artists didn't know is that it makes a new wallet and then all of a sudden you have, like your account that everything's linked to on like foundation or super rare open seat. Then that everything's linked to on like foundation or super rare open sea. Then all of a sudden you have a new account for the hardware wallet and you're like, wait, I've just built up all my art. It's like no, you don't make these connections when you're new because you just don't know.

Jessica Cardelucci: 8:13

Um, mine was okay, it was fine starting over, I, my wild mustangs and GM sunshine, that generative collection, were on there. And then when I started fresh with my contract, um and newer work and my plates With the super work, that's all on my hardware wallet. But it's kind of funny, these little nuances that you don't realize when you're new. You're like I'll wait until I have more funds and then, of course, I'll get a hardware wallet, and then you don't realize the implications of that and it's like, oh, if someone had just warned us, we probably would have all done it differently.

NorCal Guy: 8:40

Right Right differently. Right right, like I'm surprised that a lot of the platforms didn't have like, hey, you should start out with a hardware wallet, not with metamask. I don't think they cared.

Jessica Cardelucci: 8:52

But, um, actually what I would love them to do is at least allow us to link wallet um, because it just by default you log in with your wallet and that's your identity. So when you have a new wallet it's like creating a new identity, and I know a few artists that have dealt with um like security breaches, and they've had to start over, and then they get really frustrated because, like well, everyone that was following my account now isn't following the new one. I wish there was a way to like link multiple wallets to one account anyways, we don't need to go that rabbit hole. But it is a funny thing of once you get a hardware wallet, you're all of a sudden like oh no, now it's a new, almost like artist account on this marketplace. Right?

NorCal Guy: 9:33

right, I feel like DECA kind of, don't they?

Jessica Cardelucci: 9:37

They do. They do a really good job and there are places they are allowing you to do that. I don't think any of the artist marketplaces are where it's sold, but a lot of them like DECA, maybe even on cyber. I think you can link if you want. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's becoming more common. I mean, I know the wallet. People have multiple. Obviously we all have multiple wallets for different things, so hopefully that becomes standard and the wallet isn't such an emphasis. But it is funny, like, especially in 2021, there's no way around it. Just all of a sudden, you were excited to get your hardware wallet and put new work on it and you're like, oh no, I'm starting over.

NorCal Guy: 10:16

So what were your first thoughts when you heard about crypto art?

Jessica Cardelucci: 10:21

Ooh, so this is really funny. I know, on the question you'd put NFTs, but I think I didn't realize this. So, okay, I came into NFTs specifically through clubhouse.

Jessica Cardelucci: 10:32

It was January 2021. We just moved, actually, from NorCal back down to SoCal and it was, you know, peak COVID stuck at home, like most people. So clubhouse was so awesome because another photographer had told me about it and I think a lot of us were just creating that connection and I'm just naturally a pretty social person. So I was like, oh, this audio app, I can talk to other creatives, photographers this sounds like what I need. And then I just, even though I'm a photographer, I've always loved the art side of it, so I would jump into, like, the art rooms. It's a lot like Twitter spaces, but Twitter just didn't have audio at the time. So that was really why this app was so key.

Jessica Cardelucci: 11:08

Were you on clubhouse I can't remember Barely Okay, I know it was. There were some collectors on there, but it was kind of before the big photo wave I would say, um, so we'd be in there and just talking about art. Sometimes I'd go into the photo rooms, but they are a little bit more focused on like commercial work Not always, but sometimes. So I kind of found myself in between and in the art rooms, all of a sudden someone would bring up NFTs and I didn't know what it was. It's just like NF, what, and like, oh, it's crypto art. And I was just like what? And I really think it's the audio that helped, because I think reading about it it just didn't make sense. So the fact that you could be on these apps, ask questions, talk to friends, like what is this, and they would send I want to say OpenSea.

Jessica Cardelucci: 11:51

The document was like one of the few ones there that explained it really easily and I think that's maybe how a lot of us got onboarded through OpenSea, because a lot of the other websites didn't have a lot of information and they had this like long page kind of describing, you know, nfts on the blockchain, which you know. It missed a lot of information, but that's okay, we all got here and that's all that matters. But yeah, I just thought it was so fascinating and I had heard about, obviously, bitcoin and crypto. I'm not from a financial background so I just never fully grasped it. I kind of always thought it was crypto. I was like, okay, it's that kind of black market thing. I don't get it Cool. But then once I heard about art, I was like this is so fascinating. It's like, okay, I kind of understand the public ledger element to it. It's almost like your art has like a serial number publicly and you can own it. I was like this is actually really fascinating. So I kind of just sat back and watched it for a while. It took me about six months until I minted. I don't know.

Jessica Cardelucci: 12:47

I've always loved tech and, like I said, I even lived in the Bay Area for a bit. I used to work with some tech companies on the creative side, but I've always just been a techie person with that kind of computer background. But what I almost forgot about was how many years prior it was in 2018. And this is why I'm glad you said crypto art Cause. Uh, I actually first heard about Kevin Abash's. Crypto rose in 2018. Were you familiar with that project?

NorCal Guy: 13:14

His name sounds familiar, but the project.

Jessica Cardelucci: 13:16

I don't know. So it was. It was called the forever rose and it minted on Valentine's day 2018, but it was an ERC 20 token called rose and based on his photograph of a rose. Let me see I copy pasted to make sure I said this properly the buyers each received one cent of the rose token and then the purchasers could decide to sell their potential rose, but it was all like backed by his photograph and it sold for, I want to say, a million dollars, and I think the funds were all used for a foundation, I believe. But either way, I was like so fascinated I was like crypto art and this photograph sold for a foundation, I believe. But either way, I was like, so fascinated, I was like crypto art and this photograph sold for a million dollars, but like I don't understand it and you had to buy a token and it just kind of seemed weird and it kind of came back to like the economical side with like, okay, you're not really buying the art. I guess maybe it was fractionalized art, if I'm even saying that correctly, but you really owned the token and I could. I loved it.

Jessica Cardelucci: 14:12

I think it was a pay-to-pixel article that wrote it and I could not grasp it and I'm kind of bummed because I'm like man, if I had just dug a little bit deeper, like even when you googled it, that even kind of in 2021, you know, like if you went looking for information on how to mint an nft, there, really you had to just do it. There really wasn't a lot information how, and that's why a lot of us just jumped in and kind of prayed a little bit, cause unless you knew the right people, well, there really was. There's no other way. You've had to just dive in and learn. So even in 2018, like I could not truly wrap my brain around it.

Jessica Cardelucci: 14:48

But it was kind of funny to think back. I was like I completely forgot about that and I think he was celebrating what is it? The sixth year anniversary. I was like, oh my gosh, that's when I first literally heard about crypto, art and nfts. I just could not fully grasp it until I came back around in 2021 through clubhouse and obviously the tokens had changed I think the way, like the 721s, you know, lengthy art. It helps me understand it a little bit better with smart contracts versus talking about um just owning tokens backed by art.

Jessica Cardelucci: 15:17

I had a hard time grasping that personally right, right no no, looking back, it makes more sense that the technology was early. That was just how it happened, right. Um, that was it. A little fun fact on that one.

NorCal Guy: 15:29

Nice. So why did you choose art? What brought you to art? Photography.

Jessica Cardelucci: 15:37

It's always been there. I'm the kid who always loved Polaroid cameras. Every family vacation we'd go on, my mom would buy me like one or two of those disposable cameras at like Bright Aid or CVS and I couldn't wait. I just wanted to know, use them, take the film. We usually take them like we get the underwater ones, go snorkeling or something. You couldn't wait. We'd come home, go get them developed and it just I never gave it up.

Jessica Cardelucci: 16:04

I would like to doodle as a kid, but not as much as photography. It's really been one of those things that whenever I could get my hands on a camera, I could, and then just throughout, like elementary school, high school, um, I would slowly like upgrade my gear and I kind of. I originally learned film, but, like I said, largely Polaroids and disposable cameras, nothing too fancy. Um, and then the digital era started to come around and my first camera was actually oh my gosh, I still have it. It, let me grab it, you're gonna love it. I don't even think it works. It was this intel. Oh, wow, it's uh, and he says cartolucci on the box. I don't even know what it's called, uh, but I swear it's like 200 pixel photos, like worse than like an early iPhone and you can plug it. I think it held like 20 digital photos is like all I could hold Like super. I don't know if it even says the year on it no, it doesn't but it was like some super basic. I would play around with stuff like that. I just loved it, load the photos on my family computer and slowly would upgrade, and then I'm largely self-taught.

Jessica Cardelucci: 17:20

My high school had they didn't have I don was I did take a class on digital arts and learn Photoshop, and that's when I kind of got obsessed with like ooh, like creative tech Like this is cool, I can create digitally.

Jessica Cardelucci: 17:40

And then I discovered that was just more my vibe. I've always had I don't have a very good hand, like I like to be creative, but I'm not the illustrated type. A little side topic I actually have Graves disease, so I had my thyroid ablated when I was about 13. I went through like kind of a huge health crisis in high school but it affected a lot of like my writing skills and I was like super shaky. Like everything I do is like you know, the letters weren't straight, everything was rigid and it affected a lot of what I did and I think that is also kind of pushed me into photography, because there's this medium that I could control in a different way, where I felt a little bit out of control of even my own like hands and movements and things when I was in high school and I'm like I could do it, but I couldn't it was so unsteady.

NorCal Guy: 18:35

Have you done along the way like in high school? Did you have any of those grunge jobs that?

Jessica Cardelucci: 18:40

I was the photographer yeah, you could laugh, but it's like always been the photographer I have. Like I was the girl who'd show up and photograph the bands. Like all my, our neighbors growing up was a bunch of boys Love them, they were like my brothers. Like I was the skate photographer, I'd be like below the half pipe trying to get the cool shots. I was like the cool chick that got to hang out with, like all the cool guys.

NorCal Guy: 19:05

All right, all right.

Jessica Cardelucci: 19:08

So, yeah, um, other than that, graphic design is what I did and that's what I ended up studying in college. So I pursued design. I worked at a design studio for about a year until I started freelancing and then took up more commercial work. So, even though I love photography, I got scared we were during the recession is about when I graduated, so barely anybody was getting jobs and I kind of decided maybe I should take the safe route and then pursue art. But I just realized how much I love and miss photography. So I was doing graphic design, like websites, identity work, logos, you name it. Yeah, um, but I kind of fell into retouching for a bit, which was really fun, especially when we were in the bay area. I would do a lot of products design you know any of their lifestyle shots so it was kind of cool. They hired me as a designer, but they realized how good my retouching and photography skills were, that they kind of pulled me in that direction. So it was fun. I got to work remotely, do what I wanted, still, you know, have an income but still pursue my fine art, and that was a really fun balance. But it's always really been art, even when I worked as a photographer.

Jessica Cardelucci: 20:13

I did some. I worked for Capture Imaging, which is a Southern California company, and it was cool. We'd actually do a lot of event photography and coverage. We'd do some celebrity work. We used to do CinemaCon, which used to be called Show West, out in Las Vegas. We'd go out for the week. We were the house photographers, we'd cover the whole event and I I actually we'd photograph some stuff at the getty museum, which was pretty cool, and even um the broad museum. I got to work at the opening of the broad museum, so that was pretty cool. I actually have a piece that they let us take home.

Jessica Cardelucci: 20:41

That were some like the table decorations by some of the artists so some of them weren't always like artists, but it's always been involved with the arts. I found ways. Even if I had to find income from other sources. I found ways to just keep myself involved with the arts. I found ways even if I had to find income from other sources. I found ways to just keep myself involved in the arts somehow, Cause that's really just where my heart's always been Right.

NorCal Guy: 20:59

Wow, that's awesome. So the big question if you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Jessica Cardelucci: 21:09

It's probably going to be a surprise to everyone, but it would be a horse. They're just such amazing animals and I just think they're such symbols of power and freedom and I personally connect with them and love horses, so I just feel like it's an animal I would love to be that makes sense, makes sense.

NorCal Guy: 21:28

That's what I would have guessed for you for sure. Do you have a favorite food?

Jessica Cardelucci: 21:37

I'm definitely a steak and potatoes girl.

NorCal Guy: 21:41

Yeah, an avocado that might be the second sweet tweet I'm sure those three would go well together. As well they do.

Jessica Cardelucci: 21:49

Yeah, those three would go well together as well, they do, maybe a side of art a joke too.

NorCal Guy: 22:01

So what's the best piece of advice you've been given, or do you have like a mantra that you have that you go live by?

Jessica Cardelucci: 22:08

That's a good one. Um, I'm going to say it's always to really trust yourself in your vision, cause even when, like I was mentioning, I made that decision to follow graphic design, I've always had a love hate relationship with it. I feel like I was pretty good at it, especially cause I'm creative. I'm a pretty good creative problem solver, I would say. But there's something that doesn't come naturally to me in the industry, kind of like, how I said, illustration is something I struggle with. So I always kind of went on the more you know website, more graphic side. But I followed that really because I felt it was the safer option and I was like, okay, you know, obviously you need to find a way to, you know, make a living as an artist, but I just I really fought with it and then I got so deep in my freelance career and my clients that I wasn't making enough time for myself. And then I just, really, years into it, realized how much I missed photography.

Jessica Cardelucci: 22:58

And there was one of the photographers I was working with actually you're working one of those, the jobs in Las Vegas and I remember them saying like, oh, are you going to be working full time in photography when you graduate? Because I would work that throughout college as well. I said no, I'm going to follow design. I just think it's a better career choice for me, even though I love photography. And they kind of like backed me into a corner. I love them. They were like my mentors, they were like Jessica, but your heart is in photography. Like I'm telling you you need to do this or you're going to regret it. And I was like, no, I'm going to be smart, I'm going to take the safer choice. And I never forgot that, even like 10 years later, and I was like, wow, they were right.

Jessica Cardelucci: 23:38

I kind of followed the safer choice and wanted to pursue design and I'm still grateful. It's like a career you can, I can, still use. Like I'm still really grateful that I studied that. But I also wish earlier I followed my heart a little bit more on graphic design and like any arts, I think I kind of put art on the back burner a little bit and we'll kind of just play with photography. But then I realized how much I really loved the arts and even when we went and I was living in Northern California, being exposed and just so much closer to the history up there, a lot of the galleries and even down in Carmel. I just fell so deeply in love with it and I was like how come I never pursued this even sooner, like I've always loved photography and I just that advice to really just trust your gut and follow it is something I'm glad I did, but I almost wish I did sooner and I had a mentor that said that and I just I never forgot it.

NorCal Guy: 24:27

Yeah, that makes sense. So do you have advice for artists coming to the NFT space?

Jessica Cardelucci: 24:34

Definitely trust your gut and your vision. I would say do your research and take your time. I definitely think in those 2021 days, there was just so much chaos and confusion and we were all excited and we were all trying to research, but there was just this lack of information as well. It was hard to come by, like I was mentioning that now it's still a little bit hard and you think, when you're new, it is hard to learn where to look. But definitely to do your research and take your time and move with intent. And the other advice is to really make friends.

Jessica Cardelucci: 25:08

I think a lot of people come on and it was easier said than done but really just trying to connect with other artists, cause it's really like you said, the friends we've made are really what keeps me here and coming back. And I think a lot of people always feel like, oh, I need to be friends with, like you know, the most successful artists if I'm going to make it, and that's absolutely not true. It's some of my best friends and the people who have helped me and my art are, you know, artists that are not top selling artists. They're just amazing people that I trust and they're still present in the industry and then a lot of them do eventually have their time and it's so amazing to be able to celebrate that. And you really have to find your own corner and then find the people that you connect with and then it just makes it so much more enjoyable out here and so much more fun when you find that group.

NorCal Guy: 25:51

Definitely does. It helps in the hard times, definitely, like during the bear market for sure to have all the friends going through the same thing.

Jessica Cardelucci: 26:02

Yes, lots of panic, dms, but at least you, like you all suffer together. So it's great. But truly, I do have to say the market. I think we all knew that a bear market was likely. I'd heard of like crypto winter. You know, I didn't really. I never experienced one, but we'd all kind of been warned about it. But and then we love the art. That's obviously why we're here. We're like, okay, it's not gonna be that bad, we're just creating. But then I don't know to actually experience it was way different than I thought it would be. So it's nice to have friends there with you by the side, because you're're like I'm going crazy, like what, what is what's with this place? So it's not. You feel more normal when you find those friends.

NorCal Guy: 26:40

So if you could live or move anywhere, where would you live and why?

Jessica Cardelucci: 26:47

I would live exactly where I am now. So I love Southern California. We feel so grateful that to be here. I mean we're close by family so I'm very thankful that we have family here. But I just love it. My husband serves. We love the beach. We're always outside by the water. Yeah, it's always sunny in 75. It's amazing, you can go skiing in two hours. If you want go to the desert, la or San Diego, I don't know. We're in Orange County so it's a very central place. It's just close enough if you want to get to the city, but it's just removed enough. It's a little bit of a slower pace of life, which we love, and we just we love the ocean. So we're, we love living in Northern California. We miss it quite often, but I think we're so happy to be back.

NorCal Guy: 27:38

So yeah, I would have to stay here all right, that's fair.

Jessica Cardelucci: 27:40

Do you have any questions for me? I do. What was it really like being like? You were one of the few early photography collectors and I feel like you went out on a limb when other people were kind of like no photographs were selling.

Jessica Cardelucci: 27:55

At least you know largely yeah, if you were um, I'm just like, what was it like to be even on the collector's side, like, were there groups of you collecting? Were you very like solo? Did you have like a group of friends that you guys will kind of chat like? What was it like to really dive in on your end being where it seemed, at least from the artistic end? There weren't many people there, I don't you know. From the artist side it's kind of it can be lonely when you don't have people doing what you're doing I've always been like contrarian.

NorCal Guy: 28:22

So like, like I've I got in the crypto earlier than my friends and they were all like you gotta sell, you gotta sell, you gotta get out of it. It's gonna go to zero. I'm like, no, I think it's not, I think it's gonna be good for a long time. So, like I've always been contrarian in a lot of my beliefs and uh, how I come about to things. So it wasn't so hard and just didn't make sense why photography wasn't selling um, like the the financial side of it. Just like it didn't make sense to me that astronauts were the art to have. Back then, like I was just like I don't know why everyone's fascinated with these astronauts. I mean, I get you know, you can finally sell this digital medium of like animation or 3d art, but I remember everything on open sea was like sparkles.

Jessica Cardelucci: 29:23

It reminded me of like early 2000s websites, you know things like yeah, it just didn't.

NorCal Guy: 29:28

I don't know, it just didn't make sense. I't know it just didn't make sense. I was like it doesn't make sense why no one's buying photography when the average person, I feel, relates quickest and closest to photography than any any other art form. So cause you can put yourself in that spot and be like, oh yeah, I see that the beauty in this image or whatever versus a painting, that's, that can't be abstract or have a meaning to it and people are just like eh.

NorCal Guy: 30:00

So it just didn't make sense to me and I was like, well, I'm going to go for it because I like it and I always have liked it. You know, part of it probably is because I took photography classes and it was like one of my favorite classes and I always loved it, so I guess I had that connection. Probably is because I took photography classes and it was like one of my favorite classes and I always loved it, so I guess I had that connection too. So there's a lot going for me to be for photography.

Jessica Cardelucci: 30:24

But yeah, awesome. Had you collected anything traditionally or in print before, or was this your first experience with like collecting photography as well?

NorCal Guy: 30:32

uh, yeah, so we have collected, like our. My wife's office is full of photographs from a local photographer, so every wall has a photograph from our local photographer in her office, and we have a couple at our house as well. So, yeah, we were collecting before this um crypto art space as well amazing, amazing.

Jessica Cardelucci: 30:54

I actually didn't know that.

NorCal Guy: 30:56

Well, yeah, any other questions?

Jessica Cardelucci: 31:02

Oh, what keeps you going?

NorCal Guy: 31:06

That's a hard question.

Jessica Cardelucci: 31:11

It's just like an addiction, right. It's hard to stop, but still it's like you keep showing up, I mean so, I mean that's easy to say, but I just it's like an addiction, right. It's hard to stop, but still it's like you keep showing up.

Jessica Cardelucci: 31:18

I mean, so I mean that's easy to say, but I mean where it's? There's a lot of people that love the art, but it's going through those, those markets. I've noticed a lot of people have not been able to continue. Now it's very difficult, but it's amazing to see people with such passion continue to show up. And what is it that makes you want to keep showing up?

NorCal Guy: 31:35

um, I guess it's mainly the people, um, that keep me coming back. I mean, it definitely is harder when you got a family at home and you're like man, I just want to spend more time with my family. So I definitely am a little less online, less, um, and, uh, try and keep my phone put away during the day when my kids are awake and you know, spend that quality time with the family and then try and do whatever I can while they're asleep. So, but, yeah, what keeps me coming back is the people, the good times, and, yeah, I've made some good friends and I enjoy talking with them. Good, do you have any upcoming projects or works you'd like to talk about?

Jessica Cardelucci: 32:34

No upcoming projects. I'm continuing working on what I'm called my plates oh yeah, my original works of art and it's really a work in progress and kind of an experiment. It came from my love of traditional photography and really studying like vintage works and I love how like even glass plate negatives, photographer the printing plates, kind of how they would catalog the work back in the days. They would obviously number the plates like they would negatives and I always found that so interesting and like how neurology and numbers play such a big role in crypto art, like autoglyphs, the punks, you name it everything's numbered. It's kind of you know they're not like individually titled. I was like, huh, this kind of reminds me of like photography plates. I was opening up Imogen Cunningham, her retrospective of the book, like okay, now here are the plates and how they've like numbered and cataloged all the work in the book. So it's like I just feel like my photography itself I don't want to say has changed.

Jessica Cardelucci: 33:30

I think I've continued to push myself further artistically but the way I thought about my work kind of changed when I discovered the blockchain and specifically smart contracts and it was so important to me to own my own. I was the person like in the manifold discord, like, please let me on. So they gave me early access to my contract. It was probably a week or two before their studio went live, which a fun fact. It cost $1, dollars to make my contract or deploy it, because it was before they used the. I think I believe it was the proxy that cut down the cost significantly in gas. Um, it was very expensive to deploy the contracts, but I obviously used money that I'd earned from previous work was like I want to invest this in myself, but it was. That's how important I felt smart contracts were to artists. So my idea with this and the plates was to really this is my catalog of work that will be forever on the blockchain. So as long as I can continue to use this catalog or, sorry, this smart contract as my catalog, I'm going to. So I've decided to number them essentially. Like you know, like glass plate negatives, printing plates negatives, they're numbered, so it will continue, but I'm going to let it ebb and flow.

Jessica Cardelucci: 34:38

I kind of I wasn't sure if I wanted to release them as collections. One through 12 are definitely one of ones. 13 through 18 were more of a set that were released altogether. I'm going to kind of let it ebb and flow and see where it takes me. But I just love the idea of even if I choose to archive the work by collections or by year or maybe it's a true one of one I love kind of this ongoing story that people can always come back to this one contract and my work is really just kept in one place. So I'm really working on you know what comes next.

Jessica Cardelucci: 35:07

I just finished up in the fall my last few pieces and trying to figure out what direction I want to take the next set in. So that's really my focus for right now is those one of ones and how I want it to grow long-term. And I just thought it was so. It's such a simple thing and I know I don't. I don't want to fixate too much on the tech, because I love the tech, but the art itself obviously is the most important to me. But I just think it's such a beautiful new way to look at photography and how photographers and artists really present and archive their work and I want people to be able to come back to this one contract of originals and we'll see how that plays out over time. Obviously, a lot can change. I may have to stay open-minded, but yeah, it's beautiful I that's really how I wanted my work and, kind of reflecting on what I had learned about traditional photography is what I see going forward and how I want my work to be collected out here.

NorCal Guy: 35:57

Awesome. Well, Jessica, thank you for your time today and coming on the show and sharing a little bit about yourself and giving us some insights. Thank you.

Jessica Cardelucci: 36:11

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

NorCal Guy: 36:15

Perfect. Well, you have a good day and we'll talk soon.

Jessica Cardelucci: 36:19

Thank you and I promise I won't make you walk miles in downtown LA.

NorCal Guy: 36:23

Perfect, perfect.

Jessica Cardelucci: 36:25

We'll take an Uber next time.

NorCal Guy: 36:26

All right, perfect, all right, take care. Okay, who is this? Who is this guy?

Jessica Cardelucci: 36:47

Who is this guy? Who is?

NorCal Guy: 36:49

this Okay Showtime. Norcal and Chill Podcast. What the what the Chill? Norcal and Chill Podcast Show. It's chill time. Norcal and Chill Podcast. What the what the Chill?