all about me
or at least a nugget or two
Hi! I'm Jennie. I'm an art and design teacher by weekday, and an adventurer by weekend (...and holiday weekends, and school breaks, and of course all summer long). I have a passion for all things travel, outdoors, design, craft, and culture!
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Fimmvörðuháls trail, Iceland, 2021
my heart belongs to adventure
It's true that I love being outside and/or traveling (adventure travel being the best of both worlds!) more than just about anything-- and in my early travels, watercolors or a simple sketchbook and pen were my portable art medium of choice. I rarely sketch or paint in my free time these days (like I said... I'd rather be adventure traveling!), but I am an absolute lover of amateur photography--especially when adventuring! In fact, a lot of my destinations are selected FOR their photographical advantages. Photography can't always capture the full majesty of a place, but it's an amazing portable medium with instant gratification, and I am constantly chasing the (best) light.
Tour du Mont Blanc, France, 2018
My brand of photography speaks to my designer proclivities-- I don't shoot for expression, I shoot for function (i.e. just trying to make great photos to tell the story of a place or people!) and to "problem-solve" the best way to frame and capture it all. And of course, it's all about having that spot of color or person in a vast landscape, to attempt to give perspective and scope to that very full majesty. I travel solo a lot, so, oftentimes that person is me! (thank you tripods, and sometimes well-balanced rocks). It has its disadvantages obviously, but for the most part, it's a fun challenge to use myself as the model! And when my goal is to have a photo of me in a place... well, I get to make it exactly as I want it (read: not depend on someone else's photographic talents, or lack thereof ;). Basically, neither travel nor photography exist without the other in my book, and the ultimate expression of this happened on a 2022 photography summer BYU Study Abroad. The best six weeks of artistic creation and travel, combined!!
Jökulsárlón, Iceland, 2017
a deep love of craft
And then... there's how I feel about CRAFT.
I'm a creative. I'm a designer. I'm an artist. I don't always feel like an "artist". I'm not the type that's dying to paint and draw, in fact I recently realized that -- though I used to love it -- now it gives me anxiety, and I don't enjoy it. I love the functionality and purpose of design, I love that I get to teach screen printing and create my own print projects anytime I want, and I love outdoor photography.
But what I really love? The precision and problem-solving and tactile nature of CRAFT. Binding beautiful books and figuring out the dimensions of clamshell cases and the precise location of embedded magnets. Following in my grandfather's footsteps and becoming adept at stained glass. Learning how to finally, successfully throw on the potter's wheel. Designing clever, creative and challenging models for book arts ideas. Figuring out how to replicate a challenging entity as a sewn and constructed costume. Attempting the intricately technical, yet seemingly magical practice of stone lithography. Exploring traditional and modern letterpress techniques and combining them with screen printing.
I. Love. It. All. Going back to school as an Art Education graduate student only encouraged and increased that love! The program was part-time, but I enrolled full-time so that I could learn as much as possible--might as well! With the studio course requirement for my masters, plus the myriad of courses I enrolled in for personal and professional enrichment and--let's be honest-- pure enjoyment, I was able to take/learn all of the following:
ceramics
figure drawing
digital photography
advanced screen printing
materials of painting
stone lithography
letterpress
book arts
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Also, I worked in the campus library for two years, in Conservation and Book Repair. This wasn't just a great job because I got to get paid for bookbinding! -but because my boss and friend introduced me to the greatest craft experience of all: PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFT
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GOING TO PENLAND
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changed
my
world
Located in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, Penland was already going to be a dream come true based on location alone. But its established 95-year history, esteemed visiting faculty experts, vibrant community of crafters, extraordinary campus of studios AND amazing food + gorgeous views to boot... WOW. There is truly nothing like it! (You can read more about my experiences at Penland HERE, on the blog)
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Penland has studios in:
ceramics
wood
iron
metals/jewelry
textiles/weaving
glass
hot glass
papermaking
printmaking
letterpress
bookbinding
photography
painting/drawing
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...and I want to learn/experience them ALL!! (well except painting and drawing :). I attended the first time in 2021 for the spring session, which was just a week long-- and I chose BLACKSMITHING, because... well so many reasons. When would I ever get a forge of my own/be able to pick up blacksmithing as a hobby? The project was a copper saute pan and an iron skillet! (not conceptual, it was a PRACTICAL challenge... just how I like!)-- and the overall experience was incredible.
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My second round as a Penland student came two years later in the summer of 2023, with a two-week session in the wood studio. Man I labored over that decision-- I really want to learn jewelry-making, and glassblowing, and papermaking... but ultimately I chose woodworking, because it was green woodworking, where I built an 18th-century ladderback chair... from a log. Using 18th-century tools.
It was the right decision. Holy cow it was amazing. Both were the right decisions! AND... probably the best hands-on research I could do for my thesis project. At Penland, I was not just experiencing a craft school and learning "lost arts", but I did so from experts who had learned via the artisanal apprenticeship model, and who were devoting their lives and livelihood to the preservation and practice of their craft.
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There are seven sessions each summer, with a different visiting artist and theme/focus for each studio, every session... so there is always something new to learn.
I would go every summer if I could! I want to learn IT ALL
more than a craft enthusiast
wanna see more? click the links!
