Featured on The Abundant Artist Blog
My first guest post has been published! It’s on The Abundant Artist Blog and it’s all about how I designed my own self guided MFA course. This has been a huge undertaking and is making an incredible difference to my creative practice. Click on the image below to read the article.
What?? New Class Starting!
I'm super excited because a new class I've cooked up with the amazing Ginger Huebner at Roots and Wings School of Art and Design is about to start! It's a class on Creative Mindset, a way to give yourself a "creative reboot" once a month to help you on your own creative journey or just give yourself some space to breathe in your busy life.
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It is perfect for you if:
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- You crave creative time and space but struggle to make it actually happen
- You want a chance to escape and just be YOU for a while
- You want a little bit of challenge to launch you forward into the goodness
- You want to learn a variety of mixed media techniques to aid you in your creative PLAY
- You want to learn a creative mindset to help you let go and enjoy the process
- You want to hang out in a fun, creative atmosphere
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Ginger and I will take turns teaching each month. She starts off the series tomorrow, I will be teaching next month on the second Friday from 7:00 to 9:00. If you've already got plans for tomorrow, feel free to join later. However, you might want to go ahead and book your seat because the class is filling up fast!
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We've put together a lovely inspiration book and a great series of themed sessions to get you going. (When you sign up, you get your own copy of the inspiration book to keep.) All materials are included. Please feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks and sign up with a friend or more if you want to!
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It's going to be awesome!
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Click here for more info or to book your seat!
Family has to come first
Hello! This is a little less of a blog post and more of an announcement. As you probably know, I have four young children ages 8, 5, 6, and 3. We have recently uncovered a health issue that affects all of them. It is not life threatening and there is a good treatment plan to follow, but it will take time. It may take a full year to implement. Nevertheless, we are very thankful to have a diagnosis and a way to move forward.
During this period, I plan to continue making artwork but I will not be able to keep up my regular pattern of posting, emails, and insider videos. I have to cut back somewhere. In my priorities, Family and Health come first, Art Production comes second and Art Business comes third, so I've decided to take a break from the business side of things.
On the positive side, this will give me a bit of an "incubation period" to develop my creative ideas. I may pop into your inbox to show you something I've made that I think is really exciting. However, at present I'm hesitant to commit to a schedule of posting because I really don't know how much time and energy this treatment for the children is going to take.
Hopefully at the start of 2021 I'll have a batch of great new artwork to show you! If not I'll have a story and a new starting point.
My mother once told me that the most flexible person in the room is always the strongest. This wisdom has proved true for me and I'm using it as guidance now.
Also on the positive side, we've just had a great holiday together. I hope you're having a similarly positive experience. And if not, we've all got the clean slate of a new year to look forward to. It's a time to dig deep, look at your priorities and make sure they support your dreams. If they don't, do something about it because life is short! You've got to LIVE now!
Here's wishing you a great start to a new decade. I'll see you in 2021.
Receive Fully to Deepen Your Gratitude
Are you good at receiving? When someone gives you a compliment does it make you feel amazing or a little awkward? Do you find it easy to accept help from friends?
I only recently realized how utterly terrible I was at receiving! I was uncomfortable with compliments, shy with love, and a little panicky about accepting help from others. Yikes!
Clearly I needed to sort this out! I wanted to attract more abundance and happiness into my life. I would never be able to do that if I couldn’t receive it!
But what was I going to do about it? I wasn’t really sure. I floated around with it a bit until I revisited The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. In it he says “Here’s what to do when you notice yourself deflecting [a compliment]. When someone says . . . [something kind] to you, pause for a moment to register the beam of positive energy that’s being aimed at you. Then thank the person who beamed it your way.”
This image of “beaming positive energy” really helped me understand the personal side of receiving. Receiving is opening your heart to a good quality or kind message, letting it in and really enjoying it. It takes relaxation and trust. More than anything, it takes practice. The more you appreciate the good things in your life, the more you receive them into your heart. The more you do this, the more your heart and mind open to the possibility that things can get better and better for you. The more you do it, the more your joy and gratitude grow.
This is a circle of tiny pine ones that my children collected for me. I’ll make similar circles with the acorn tops.[/caption]
So receiving is about enjoying! Since I realized this I’ve been making an effort to enjoy my children, my husband, and my creative abilities in my studio. I’ve been enjoying my health and the ability to work out in a gym. And you know what? My appreciation of my life is growing exponentially. It’s getting easier to take compliments.
My gratitude is growing too. If you spend time enjoying the good things and letting them into your heart, then gratitude comes easily and naturally.
Before I started concentrating on receiving, it was like I was looking at a beautiful aquarium and enjoying all the shapes and colors of the fish. I didn’t realize I could step into the water and swim with them.
Life can get so much more vivid if you let it.
Experimenting with Small Pieces
Hope you had a great Halloween last night and are having an amazing Dia de Los Muertos today! Life has certainly been busy with my four kids this week!
In my art studio things have been busy too. I’ve been hard at work in a business plan, which has led me to work on prototypes for small pieces. These will be little one square pieces and small four square quilts. They will be small enough to buy in multiples and arrange however you want in your living space. Or you can just get one perfect one to have on it’s own. Either way I’m really excited about them!
The designs have been coming together easily. That’s the fun, easy part. The tricky part has been finding the right frames. It’s hard to find shadowbox frames that are the right color and deep enough, so I’m trying out making my own
I recently bought the equipment to make my own larger frames and am learning the ropes with making these small ones. It’s another tricky set of skills to learn! But between the web design, photography, mold making and framing I’ve learned a lot of other tricky skills to make these resin quilts come to life, so I reckon I can figure this out too.
The first thing to learn has been how to use a router and router table. This began with quite a few mishaps! However, after a few YouTube videos and a little trial and error, I think I’m well on my way to figuring it out. Next is cutting the pieces with the new gorgeous, lovely furniture grade blade I’ve gotten for my chopsaw. It cuts so beautifully! Now I’m getting to the nitty gritty of assembly, figuring out the best ways to systematically make the pieces so they are consistent and quick to make. I’m still in the middle of this so we’ll see how the final result turns out in the coming weeks.
I’m hoping this will become one of those calming, meditative tasks in which I can really enjoy the process as I make lots and lots of them. Fingers crossed!
I hope your experiments are going well too. Remember to always keep an open mind free of judgement while you’re experimenting. You’ve got to wait until the experiment is totally finished before you can form an opinion about it. After all, you never know what wisdom will come from it - it is often surprising! I’ve also found that if you try to judge too early you restrict the expansive right brained thinking that solves problems best. So if you want an effective use of time, lighten up while you experiment! There are no wrong answers or bad results, only knowledge to gain. It just might be different knowledge than you expected! But this is good, because it keeps your mind and spirit nimble and flexible. The answer really might be right around the corner, so stay positive and enjoy yourself!
Have a happy time messing around with something new! I’ll let you know how it goes with making these frames - fingers crossed!
PS. If you're wondering why I've gone down to one blog post a month, it's because I'm now making insider videos about my studio practice just for people who are on my mailing list. If you want to see me talking about my work, showing you the latest things I'm excited about, sign up here! You'll get one email every two weeks and you can always unsubscribe. I won't be offended ;-)
"All the things my children gave me in May" is finished!
At long last, my latest artwork "All the things my children gave me in May" is finished! It includes all the beautiful things my young children gave me in the month of May. It captures their fascination with the natural world and their appreciation of the simple beauty of everyday objects. It reminds me of how in the moment they were, fixated on these little treasures, investing themselves in them for a short while, then bringing me into their world by sharing them with me, and POOF - they would be off to explore something else! This was a constant and magical process of discovery!
Here are a few stories about individual quilt squares:
In addition, all the loose looking flowers that are in the large piece on the right of the quilt were given to me by my children on Mother's Day! To see more images of this artwork and to be able to zoom in click here.
This piece is very special to me and is not for sale, but I'm sharing it with you to give you an idea for how we could make one about your family. If you love collecting things while hiking, or your children or grandchildren give you treasures, this is a way you can display them and commemorate this beautiful season of life. It certainly beats keeping them in an old shoebox or letting them get dusty in a random basket on a bookshelf!
If you're curious about the idea, check out the new commissions page on my website here.
I hope this artwork inspires you to slow down and enjoy the simple beauty of the natural world. Take the time to be in the moment, take a deep breath, and appreciate the little people or animals in your midst. It can be hard to slow down, but once you do it is SO WORTH IT!
Take Care,
Jenny
How to Make Your Inner Voice More Kind
Have you ever really listened to the way you speak to yourself in your mind? This is your internal dialogue, your personal commentary on what is going on in any given moment. This is the conversation you have with yourself all the time, but it's so ingrained you might not be aware of it. I certainly wasn't until I made a conscious effort to listen to it.
Before I did this I would have told you I was a fairly confident person and I was nice to myself on the whole. I was certainly nice to others and I made an effort to be nice to myself sometimes. But then I tried an exercise where I listened to my internal dialogue without “shushing” myself or trying to change anything for several days. I just really listened . . . and it was pretty horrifying.
All those deep, little thoughts were centered on how I wasn't good enough in almost every area of my life. They were harmful, cutting things like “You should have sorted this out before” and “Why on earth did you do that?” “You can't do that, you know you can't.” “You're disorganized. That's not acceptable.” These gave way to even worse thoughts like “You're a delinquent. You are less than nothing. This is why people don't love you enough. You can't depend on them.”
This shocked me to the core. It was just so dark.
When I stood back from it, I was amazed at how much energy I wasted belittling myself. I also noticed how strong I was to withstand it. How much energy could I free up if I changed that inner dialogue into a positive one? Could I actually train myself to be supportive in those deep inner thoughts?? I mean, how do you even do that?
I tried speaking to myself in a nice way, but it was too taxing and difficult. I had to find someone else to do it instead.
So then I turned to Tony Robbins. I was trying to find any motivational speaker who could fill my head with positive things. I looked him up on YouTube and started listening to his videos while I cleaned the bathrooms each week.
The one that inspired me the most talks about deciding to enjoy your life no matter what happens. This is a choice and is possibly the most empowered choice you can make. So far I've managed to do that for short amounts of time and it just makes everything easier. I follow my gut instincts better, I deal with my kids better and I make better decisions in my art practice. All because I've decided to have a good time! It's been so emotionally freeing. Here is the video:
Another one that has inspired my hugely is called "The Lion Attitude." In it he talks about how each person usually has success in at least one area of their life. They are usually happy with something – be it how close they are with their family, or their career, or their physical fitness, or something. He says that in that area of life the person's performance pretty much matches their “blueprint” or idea of what that part of their life should be like. It may not be perfect, but it's pretty much there. Then he talks about the areas of life where you aren't feeling successful or you aren't happy. In those areas your “blueprint” and what is actually happening are very different. That difference, that experience of not living up to your own expectations causes pain. So he said you've got to either change your performance or change your “blueprint”, or maybe do a little of both. I've realized some pretty moving things about my expectations in relation to money and family. It's been huge!
Now I have a new, healing mantra which is “I can trust my friends and family.” My blueprint is starting to change.
So my advice is to take a few days or a week to listen to how you speak to yourself. Really listen and find out what your inner dialogue is like. Then, if it's not what you want it to be, start finding a positive voice you can replace it with. Just listening to uplifting podcasts and reading inspiring stories can help shake up your issues and help you work through them. Or you may already be working with a therapist who can help you. Whatever you do, be sure to find something that feels right and authentic to you. You have to find someone who can help you believe this level of self love is possible. Tony Robbins is doing it for me. I hope you can find the right person to do it for you.
It's worth it to take this bold step forward to make a change. After all, these thoughts are with you all the time. Just imagine what it would be like if they were positive and actually adding to your life. Imagine if you were acting on these thoughts and putting 100% of your energy into making your life better. It could propel you to success you've never imagined.
This is my plan. Fingers crossed for both of us!
Take Care,
Jenny
"Crossing the Breach"
Now that my most recent show, "Deconstruct to a New Paradigm" has come down, I've had a chance to photograph "Crossing the Breach" properly! So for anyone who couldn't make it to the show, here it is.
"Crossing the Breach" is about the challenges of resolving conflict. It depicts a quilt that has been ripped apart and is trying to come back together again. Within each of us there are many parts that have conflicting feelings. Getting those feelings resolved enough so they will work together is a balancing act. It is the same in groups - getting people of differing viewpoints to come together is definitely tricky. Much of the time both sides want the same end result but want to go about it in different ways. No way is completely wrong or right. They are all just different. Sometimes we have to let go of the differences and focus on how we can work together.
And yes, if you are wondering there is one tiny thread being held by the lower two figures. This "tug of war" is more of a "tug of resolution". It's the only thing actually holding the quilt together at this point.
As you can see, both sides have similar objects that have been arranged in completely different ways. Each side expresses that group's individual feelings and approach. The approaches are pretty different. Can resolution be found?
As one very clever eight year old visitor to my show said “The one pointing the finger doesn't want there to be a solution. The one curled up doesn't think there can be a solution. The ones pulling the thread think it might not be what it was before, but it will better than it was because we worked together to put it together.”
Hopefully each of us can find resolution to the difficult situations we are faced with. As our society gets more divided, it becomes ever more important to recognize that multiple differing viewpoints can be right at the same time. Our diversity as human beings is one of our best qualities. Hammering out compromises is challenging, and usually no one is fully happy with the result, but we can all live with it together. That's what really matters.
To see more images of "Crossing the Breach" or purchase, click here.
Successful Reception and Workshop!
Last Friday night we had the Artist's Reception for Deconstruct to a New Paradigm. It went really well! We had about 100 people attend and a really positive atmosphere. I loved sharing my work with new people and finding out what intrigued them. Here are a few photos of the event. Unfortunately I was so busy greeting people, I didn't manage to pick up a camera until near the end of the event when it had quieted down. Next time I will assign a photographer!
I had a very intelligent eight year old visitor who said made some excellent observations about my latest piece “Crossing the Breach.” This is a quilt about the complexities of resolving conflict. This quilt has been ripped apart and is struggling to come together again.
She said “The one pointing the finger doesn't want there to be a solution. The one curled up doesn't think there can be a solution. The ones pulling the thread think it might not be what it was before, but it will better than it was because we worked together to put it together.”
Bravo, Natalie!
See, that right there is one of the reasons I love having kids in my life and sharing my artwork with them. Out of nowhere they can be so insightful! Isn't that magical? And everything you show them is a seed that grows in their minds. I can't wait to see what she says when she interprets artwork in a few years.
My workshop also went very well too! Each participant got to make two designs and went home with a 5x7 print of each. The participants got right into it and really enjoyed looking through the wide range of objects I had brought with me.
The participants talked about how fun it was and what a nice addition it would be to any party. One participant commented on how "it would be great for any kind of party, even a birthday party because you get to do this with other people but you don't have to talk to them!” “Introvert's delight!” said another! In other words it provides a stimulating, shared experience but also gives introverts a much needed break! Then, once you have your designs in hand you can chat about them, so there is a helpful conversation starter for shy people.
By the way, you can definitely chat with people while doing the workshop. I just think it's refreshing for introverts because you don't have to.
Here are some of my favorites from what they came up with:
Thank you so much to everyone who came to the opening and participated in the workshop. I really appreciate you! Thank you for helping me to spread thoughtfulness and a mindful approach to creativity in the world!
If you didn't manage to make it there, you still have time to go to the exhibition. It will be on display from 10:00am to 5:00pm Mon to Fri until August 16th. Going now is actually a great time to go because it's likely to be quiet, so it's a good time to walk the labyrinth. I've walked it a few times now and every time have found a solution or a new approach to a problem I was struggling with. It is an ancient form, and really does work if you approach it with open minded, quiet intention.
Or of course you can just go and look at the artwork! ;)
Take Care,
Jenny
PS. If you like the look of this workshop, I will be teaching more soon! Sign up to my email list and I'll keep you posted! If you want to know how I can enhance your party or corporate event, see my Events page for more details or contact me here.
The Show is ON! Reception and Workshop Coming Soon!
Hello! So much has happened since I last wrote! My latest exhibition "Deconstruct to a New Paradigm" is now on display! It has come together beautifully. Honestly, every time I walk into this show I like it more. It has a warm atmosphere with plenty of space to explore and interesting food for thought. It's stimulating and reassuring at the same time! Such a good combination!
The exhibition seeks to help participants create their own positive vision of the future despite the deeply divided times in which we live. How can we work together to find common ground? What might that look like?
Here are some photos to wet your appetite:
The exhibition is quite kid friendly. There are painted keys with quotes attached for participants to select and take with them. There is a labyrinth to walk and doors to walk through. As you can see kids love trying their keys in the doors! And when they are done with all that there is beautiful and interesting wall art to explore.
The Opening Reception is on Friday Aug 2nd from 5-8 pm. It is timed to coincide with the Downtown Art Walk in which lots of other galleries will be having openings, so it's a great time to come out. There will be an artist talk at 6:30 and a dance performance soon to follow.
The next day we will be holding thematic workshops:
10:00-11:55 "Why the Labrynth?" led by Marty Cain
12:00-1:55 "Breaking Out of Beliefs that Bind" led by Jay Pfeil
1:00-1:55 "Make Your Own Story Quilt" led by Jenny Kiehn
2:00-2:55 "ReFraming Our Narratives" led by Mary Lounsbury
3:00-5:00 "Empowering Embodiment through the 5 Rhythms Movement" led by Karen Chapman
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Our VOICE.
For more info or to sign up, click here.
In my workshop "Make Your Own Story Quilt" YOU will get to design your own resin quilt!
This is an excellent intro into learning to explore your creativity mindfully. We will be focusing on staying in the moment, noticing the characteristics of the objects you are working with and thoughtfully exploring how their selection and arrangement can describe a person, story, or topic.
All you need to bring is yourself and an open mind. I will be there with a very wide range of objects and natural forms to choose from, plus some handy trays for you to arrange your design in. I will photograph it professionally for you on the spot and you will get a print to take home!
The feedback I've gotten from this workshop is "overwhelmingly positive." Participants have loved exploring the process and creating their own symbolism. You don't need any artistic skill at all. This is about exploring the thought process and learning to play!
Sign up NOW while there are still spaces left! There are limited spaces to make sure each attendant has a fantastic experience. Click here to reserve your spot.
I'm so looking forward to the opening reception and the workshop! Hopefully I'll see you there and we can chat in person!
Take Care,
Jenny
Press and the Race to the Finish!
Guess who got some press?! Yep, The Laurel of Asheville just posted a great article on our upcoming exhibition! They quoted me too! Thanks to the staff of The Laurel who represented us so well! You can read by clicking on this image:
It has been go, go, go in my studio for the last few weeks. I decided to push the boat out and make a challenging conceptual piece as my last contribution to the show. The exhibition, entitled “Deconstruct to a New Paradigm” is aiming to help heal societal rifts by helping viewers envision a path to positive future. So, I decided to make a quilt called “Crossing the Breach.” It's about dealing with conflict and how complicated it is to bring opposing sides together.
Here is the original quilt design. It's a quilt that has been pulled apart and is attempting to bring itself back together.
To create this, I had to make little figures out of air dry clay. I've been looking at the work of Juan Munoz and Ellen Jewett and have been thinking about this for a while.
Here are the figures I've come up with. They had to be very small to fit in the shadow box frame. It was tricky making them. Each one took from four or six hours.
And here is the design with the figures in. In the end I decided to include fewer figures so they wouldn't dominate the design too much. If you look closely, the lower two figures are in a “tug of war” holding each end of a thread. However, in this artwork the "tug of war” is also bringing the two sides of the quilt back together.
Here is a time lapse video of me pouring some of the resin. As you can see, I used the resin to glue the figures to their little shelves.
Here are the figures in the resin. At the time of writing, they are curing in the molds while I sew the other quilt squares together. I can't wait to show you the final result!
The exhibition will be on view next Friday the 19th and the opening reception will be Friday Aug 2nd from 5-8pm. We are timing our opening with the downtown Arts Walk, so there will be other galleries doing events at the same time. The show closes on the 16th of August.
And of course there are the workshops! On Sat Aug 3rd we'll have a full day of thematic workshops. My workshop is called “Design Your Own Story Quilt” and will be from 1-2pm. Cost is $20. Click here for more info or to register.
I hope see you at one or both of these events!
Take Care,
Jenny
PS. It would be a HUGE help if you forwarded this to anyone you think would be interested. Thanks in advance for spreading the word!
Exhibition AND Workshop!
I'm so excited to tell you about my upcoming exhibition AND the workshop I will be giving to go with it!
The WHY behind Deconstruct To a New Paradigm:
This exhibition is curated by my long time family friend, Tekla. Here is an explanation of why she chose the topic and her journey in curating the exhibition:
Tekla Howachyn, a metal artist, has responded to the deep divisions in our society by creating an exhibition with a positive message. Inspired by Rev. Martin Luther King's words, “I have decided to stick with love, hate is too great a burden to bear” she seeks to inspire others to imagine a future in which we transcend our society's current struggle over polarizing issues and come together in the middle ground.
Initially prompted to action by the staggering numbers of women who reported assault in the Me Too movement, Tekla began thinking about other polarities locked in struggle. Black v. white and progressive v. conservative are also experiencing deep division. She asks “How can we decouple from this struggle and come together as equals? What might that look like?”
Tekla has worked professionally in the Asheville area for 26 years. She brings her creative and life experience to this project. “I'm amazed at how far we've come and how far we have to go,” Tekla says. “We have destroyed so much and we are building at the same time. Each person needs to create their own personal path to this new paradigm.” The interactive exhibit engages viewers as participants moving toward their own positive vision of the future.
Tekla was awarded the opportunity to present a new exhibit, “Deconstruct to a New Paradigm,” through the Point of View Curator Program at Asheville Area Arts Council. She organized six other artists to contribute including Marty Cain, Mary Lounsbury, Karen Chapman, Kathleen Kondilas, Jay Pfeil and Jenny Kiehn.
The opening reception for “Deconstruct to a New Paradigm” will be Friday, August 2 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. It includes two and three dimensional art, dance and a short artist talk beginning at 6:30 pm. There will be a full day of thematic workshops on Saturday, August 3 at the Refinery. The exhibition will be on display from July 19 to August 16 in the AAAC Exhibition Space at 207 Coxe Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801.
Click here to find out more info.
The WORKSHOP:
On Sat Aug 3rd, the day after the opening reception, I will be giving a great workshop called “Make Your Own Story Quilt”. In the workshop YOU will design your own resin quilt!
This is an excellent intro into learning to explore your creativity mindfully. We will be focusing on staying in the moment, noticing the characteristics of the objects you are working with and thoughtfully exploring how their selection and arrangement can describe a person or story.
All you need to bring is yourself and an open mind. I will be there with a very wide range of objects and natural forms to choose from, plus some handy trays for you to arrange your design in. I will photograph it professionally for you on the spot and you will get a print to take home!
The feedback I've gotten from this workshop in the past has been “overwhelmingly positive.” Participants have loved exploring the process and creating their own symbolism. You don't need any artistic skill at all. This is about exploring the thought process and learning to play!
The cost is $20. Click here to sign up.
If you have any other friends that you think would be interested, please forward this to them to let them know! This is super helpful for getting the word out! If you or your friends want to check out some of the other workshops also happening that day, click here to find out all about them.
I hope you can make it to either or both of these events! I'll be there to welcome you!
See you soon!
Jenny
New Artwork - "Sharps and Seeds" is finished!
I bet you didn't see this one coming! This is an artwork that I started and nearly completed in 2018, but then never quite finished. Then, after sitting around in my studio for a year, I suddenly realized what needed to be done to finish it. Isn't it odd how that works? Sometimes creative ideas just need to sit on the back burner for a while before the next step becomes clear.
So here is a whole new artwork for you! This one is called "Sharps and Seeds" and is about the prickly pain of letting go and the power of rebirth. When I made it, I was thinking about the process my family went through when we left our life in the UK and moved back to the US. I had been in the UK over ten years and my husband and three very young children had never lived in the US before. We were leaving our old life and giving birth to a new one - a bare two months after having our third child!
This was a powerful transition which taught me deeply about the characteristics of rebirth. In rebirth there is depth, pain, sorrow, love, strength, joy and most importantly faith. You have to have faith that it will work out to hang in there and keep going, opening yourself to the process and letting it break you and form you anew. Just like with walnuts and snakes, the outer shell or skin has to crack or flake off to make room for the new growth within.
Some of the things in this quilt I brought with me from the UK, some I found here on the land where I grew up and returned to after my long journey.
This quilt was intentionally made with warm yellows and browns to refer to the process of ageing. For me, this was a rich connection to my grandfather's log cabin, which I bought and and now live in. Several of these objects, such as the keys, I found here in this house.
In addition, this quilt has been made with an ingredient which will cause it to gently age and yellow with time. It is a living artwork that will subtly change as time passes.
Here are a couple of snapshots of individual squares and the ideas behind them. If you like this sort of thing, it's worth following me on Instagram or Facebook because I share stories about individual quilt squares regularly.
Here are some images that haven't been posted on social media yet:
These are keys that I found in my grandfather's house after I bought it. Both my grandparents had been deceased for five years and the house had been rented. We found these keys hanging on nails all over the house. They were so mysterious - we couldn't figure out what they were for at all. I find it so interesting that these keys once gave access to something, but now are just an enigma. Also there's the bigger metaphor for keys - aren't we always searching for the key to something greater? What is the key to greater understanding? What is the key to getting past your latest obstacle? Oh, these keys can be so elusive!
These are all different styles of blades that my husband has used for various model making and DIY projects. Aren't they beautiful? They speak to me so much of the sharpness and difficulty of transitions. They are functional, beautiful, can be cruel, or can be cutting you free from the thing that holds you back. They are so rich with metaphorical meaning.
This quilt will be on display at an upcoming exhibition this summer. I'll tell you more about that as soon as the fliers are finished!
Thank you for joining me on this journey! I have loved making this piece.
To see the product page or purchase, click here.
Take Care,
Jenny
"the little quiet things" is finished!
It's finally done! My latest resin quilt "the little quiet things" is fully completed! I'm so excited about the framing of it. This grey, gentle shadowbox suits it perfectly.
This resin quilt is all about the strength, gentleness and pain of being quiet. As a young girl I was very quiet and experienced a range of aspects of it. This quilt embraces the whole topic for me - the beauty and strength of quiet companionship, the gentleness of nurturing, the quiet observation of nature through a child's eyes, the strength of sacrifice, and the pain of wanting to speak but not quite knowing how.
Here is a close up so you can really see the stitching:
Here it is from the side:
Here are a few posts that contain stories of individual quilt squares. If you don't already follow me on Instagram, it's a great way to learn more about what goes into my artwork. You can find my Instagram page here. The same info gets posted on Facebook, so if you prefer Facebook you can find my Facebook page here.
This artwork is framed in a solid wood custom frame with all archival materials. I even sewed it onto the matt so it would be completely removable, which is best practice with framing. The glass is conservation glass which blocks 99% of UV rays from reaching the artwork, so it is designed to last for many years to come.
It will be on exhibit in Asheville from July 19 - Aug 16, so "the little quiet things" won't be available for shipping until Mon Aug 19th. I'll be sending more info on the exhibition as soon as the fliers are finished! For now, you can mark your calendar to know that the reception will be Fri Aug 2nd from 5pm - 8pm and I'll be giving a workshop on Sat Aug 3rd. I can't wait to tell you more about it!
Thank you for joining me on this journey to making this artwork. From all the mold making to casting to sewing to framing it has been a long time coming. If this is the first blog post you've seen about it you can read more about making the molds here and the making of this quilt here.
This artwork was extra special for me because it helped me process and find the positive side of what was otherwise a difficult time in my life. Now that I've worked through it I appreciate the skills and lessons I learned and how they have made my life better. I hope you can find the positive side to your challenges too.
To see this artwork's product page or purchase, click here.
With love and hope,
Jenny
The Life Changing Power of Following the Right Routine
Following the right routine really has completely changed my life. If the word “routine" sounds dreary and drab to you, you're probably following the wrong one.
For years, I dodged routine, fearing I would be locked into a structure that would hold me back. I wanted to take each moment as it came, following my inspiration and squeezing the most out of life. It was interesting to try live that way for a while. I made some great progress on myself, but it was hard to keep it up. When I was tired it was hard to “follow inspiration” and too easy to fall into habits that didn't serve me well. Then as I got older and gained more responsibilities, the time I had to be spontaneous got smaller and smaller. By the time I started having children, spontaneous time for me was almost completely non-existent.
Also, during that period I only made sporadic progress on my artwork. I was in a continual pattern of “restarting” and having to gain momentum all the time. I used to compare it to “getting a boulder rolling” because I had faith it would eventually roll on it's own momentum and maybe one day I would even be chasing after it. However, this seemed like a far flung idea because I was always at the very beginning, pushing that heavy, still boulder with all my might.
Then, after having children I saw what comfort a routine gave to both me and them. I noticed how the smallest changes made such a difference to how they behaved. Eventually I started to wonder if the smallest differences could change the way I approached life too.
Now I have four very young children and I am making more progress with myself than ever before. My studio practice is moving quickly, so I'm almost running to my studio I'm so excited. Physically, I'm in the best shape of my life. My finances are organized. And unbelievably, amazingly . . . my house is actually clean!!
And that isn't even the best part – my mind is calmer. I have more space to think about what I want to think about, not what I feel I have to think about. I have the energy to think about my next steps going forward and the goals I'm working toward – and not in a desperate way, but in a calm, expectant and joyful way.
I honestly used to think that could never happen, but it has. It has happened with four children age seven and under!!!
The secret is creating the right routine and using that routine to sort out one part of your life at a time.
I didn't start this all at once. Not by a long shot. It has taken me years to develop the routine that works for me, but the process is relatively simple. You can do it too. Here is what you need to know:
- STRATEGY - By creating a routine, you are implementing a strategy. This is key. You are creating a strategic plan and carrying it through. This will address the problem at it's core, so after a bit of time and consistency, you won't be “firefighting” any more. You'll be actually moving forward with it, eventually solving it completely. Essentially, what I'm talking about is strategic time blocking, setting aside a certain amount of time to work on an aspect of your life. You set this aside every day, week, month, whatever your routine is.
- DECIDE - First you have to decide what part of your life you want to improve. What will make the biggest difference to you right now? Usually, this will be the part of your life that's bugging you the most.
- ACHIEVABILITY - Next, you've got to make an achievable plan. It has to be something you can definitely do that will make a difference. For instance, to get in better shape, your plan is to work out for twenty minutes three times a week. If it's too ambitious, you'll just fall of the wagon, so make sure it is something you can definitely do.
- TIME OF DAY – Really think carefully about what time of day you're going to do this. The time of day you implement a routine can make or break it. This will depend on whether you are a morning person or night person, and what else is going on in your life. For instance, I have a high maintenance hip that requires lots of physical therapy exercises to stay functional. I tried for months to do the exercises in the evening after my kids went to bed, but couldn't create any consistency. My hip finally started improving when I started getting up early in the morning so I could do the exercises before they got up. I'm a morning person, so that was much easier to implement. This made a HUGE difference to my life!
- MAKE CONSISTENCY YOUR GOAL – Don't look for the problem to improve too early. Instead, make consistency your goal. Be proud of how consistently you are following your routine (even if you mess up a little). If you are consistent, the problem WILL improve over time. When you achieve consistency, you prove to yourself that you are trustworthy. As you carry on and eventually solve this problem, you will prove to yourself that you can follow through and solve a difficult issue completely. The self confidence you gain from this is immeasurable.
- MAKE YOUR ROUTINE INTO A RITUAL – As Twyla Tharp says “what makes it a ritual is they do it without questioning the need.” This is the level of consistency you eventually want to achieve. It is where you don't fight it at all – you accept your routine as much as you accept the inhale and exhale of breath. Believe me, this brings so much peace into your life.
- OVER TIME, GRADUALLY EVALUATE AND TWEAK YOUR ROUTINE – The smallest changes can make the biggest difference. Adjusting the time of day, what you do before or after, or what little reward you give yourself can turn a chore into something you just do without questioning. For instance, when I get up to do my physical therapy exercises in the morning, I do my absolute best to avoid checking email or social media on my phone before I do it. It's too easy to waste 15 minutes that way and that throws off my whole routine. It's the difference between stressful rushing and peacefully doing my exercises. There is no comparison!
- ADD IN ANOTHER ROUTINE TO ADDRESS YOUR NEXT PROBLEM – Once you have solved the first problem (or at least have a routine completely embedded into your life), you can start working on the next problem. Eventually you can create routines that solve the big problems in all the major areas of your life. It's really possible! And let me tell you, the mental fulfilment and peace you experience is profound.
Now that you know my strategy, here's the “real life” way I developed it. I started on this path when I had just had my second child. I was overweight, hugely frustrated with the incessant demands being put on me, and ready to throttle any well meaning adult in sight. I'm not even joking. I stormed out of the house one day in a huff and went for a run in the park just so I wouldn't rip my poor husband's head off!
After that I realized for everyone's mental health I had better start exercising regularly! I had running shoes, a stroller that you could run with and a park nearby. We couldn't afford a gym membership, so that was my option. I started getting up early, before the baby woke up, threw the toddler in the stroller with a juicebox and a snack, and would run for half an hour until it was time for my husband to get up. The mental clarity this gave me was huge. Our marriage survived just fine, and I got to where I could appreciate the positive side of everything around me.
Within a few months, I had lost the weight, was feeling amazing and then BOOM - I was pregnant again. The subsequent exhaustion killed the running. Then we decided to move from the UK to the US to be near my family and afford more space (we were rapidly growing out of our 500 sq foot home). The immigration process and third pregnancy took over my life for a year. Eventually we were settled in our new home in the US, my third child was six months old, and I was ready to do something about the weight again.
After getting into such a good routine after my second child, I believed I could do it again, despite the fact that I was much more heavy (stressful moving took it's calorific toll!). I joined a gym and my husband and I traded off who would go in the morning before the kids got up. He went Mon, Wed, and Fri and I went Tues and Thurs. We were both morning people, so this made sense. This time I was so heavy I had to implement a strict diet too. It was hard at first, but because I had lost the weight previously I believed I could do it again. It took six months, but I managed to lose 37 pounds and get in the best shape I had ever been in! This was after having three children in three years! Then, after having a fourth kid a year later, I did it again!
See how the momentum was building?
Now it might sound like I was super physically able, but the truth was I had a hip problem that I had been nursing for eight years. There were lots of exercises I wouldn't do because of my hip. Anytime I started a new form of exercise, like all that running, I went incredibly gently and slowly built up strength so I wouldn't aggravate my hip. I had been to physiotherapists in the UK but hadn't had much success. So at my husband's urging, I began seeing a physical therapist here in the US.
It took four months of physical therapy twice a week to solve my problem. (Yeah, that was definitely challenging with the kids there at the appointments!!) Along the way I had to figure out a way to fit these new physical therapy exercises into my life. That's when I came up with the idea of doing them in the morning before the kids got up. Then I finally started to make good progress. When the three months of treatment were finished, I was a little afraid I would fall off the wagon with doing my exercises at home. I also wanted to test my new abilities with a functional hip. So I started Crossfit!
This might seem insane to normally minded people. But in my head, I thought if there was a serious consequence to me not doing my physical therapy exercises, then it would keep me on track. I was honestly terrified of what would happen to my hip if I did Crossfit without doing those exercises, so that fit the bill! Plus Crossfit was something that was possible while my kids were awake. They could sit at the side, play video games and let me work out. The baby went in a play pen and watched the workout. If I tried to work out at home they constantly interrupted me, but they wouldn't interrupt the class.
So then for about a year, I got up every weekday morning to do my physical therapy exercises, got the kids up and took the oldest to school, took the younger three to my Crossfit class and then we would get on with our day. It took a whole year of keeping that routine in place for me to trust my own capability. Once I started to really trust myself, I realized I could apply that discipline to other areas of my life too.
Next, I started creating set times to do my artwork. I was already doing some, but I took it to a whole other level. Now, I have a scheduled time to do artwork five days out of seven. I can't even tell you how much happiness this has brought me. From the bottom of my soul I tell you its one of the best things I've ever done.
Then, after another six months of letting that routine settle in, I set up a time each week to do our family finances. That took a bit of figuring out. I had to try different times of day to get the right fit, because honestly this is not my favorite task! Then once I had that figured out, I set a time to actually do the housework properly too (!!!). The housework and finances were things I was always worrying about. I could never seem to fit them in or complete them! But now, I know exactly when they will be done and I don't worry about it at all. It's a bit like brushing your teeth. You have a routine for that, so you don't worry about when you will do that do you?
This has been such a huge relief. These major areas of my life are now functioning properly. The huge section of my mind that was taken up with worrying about them is now free to think about other things. Now I'm concentrating on being more present with my children day to day. I'm actively working on praising myself and being more positive internally. I'm chasing my dreams and working on how to grow my artistic practice. Isn't that such a better replacement for all the stress and worry? It really is completely life changing!
The right routine is one that works for you, with your best time of day, your work schedule and family life, and your notion of what is achievable. It also needs to address things that really matter to you. Don't go making a routine to sort out parts of your life that you think other people care about. This is about YOU and what will make a difference to YOU AND YOU ALONE! The area of your life that is bugging you the most is the one you need to find peace in, so really think – what about it is within your control? What can you do to fix it?
I want to add in one important point right at the end. At some point you will also need to schedule time to help yourself move forward personally. This may be a time for meditation, journaling, prayer or even planning and goal setting. You need time to think about yourself and what you want – what your ultimate purpose in life is. If you can get time to think about that into your routine, there will be no stopping you.
You can do this! Just take one small section of your life and put a plan together to improve it. Reward yourself for the consistency you achieve. Schedule time for activities that feed your soul and stick to them.
You are worth it!
With love and hope,
Jenny
PS. Also, if you want to check out some resources that helped me on the way, I highly recommend Allie Cassazza for household decluttering advice and intentional living, Kendra Hennessy for cleaning advice and The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington for mindset and goal setting.
My Latest Quilt Ideas Are Coming to Life!
Dreams are coming true in my art studio! Just as I had hoped, my production speed is cranking up since I made those new molds! My resin quilt "All the things my children gave me in May" is all sewn together and ready for framing - and my next quilt is nearly finished!
Here is my last progress shot of "All the things my children gave me in May":
I'm so pleased with it. To me this selection of objects says so much about the joy of my children's childhood and how they naturally see so much beauty in the simplest things. It's a quality I strive to emulate, and this quilt reminds me to do that. The flowers are from their Mother's Day bouquets to me last year!
Also, here is a detail of the stitching. I LOVE how subtle it is with the soft opaque white thread on the shiny translucent white resin.
Soon I'll be framing it. I find it more efficient to frame in batches, so when this next batch is ready you'll get to see them in their fully finished form. The quilts get this wonderful "natural history museum" quality with the shadowbox frames.
Next, I immediately set out to pour the resin for my next sculpture design, "The little quiet things". This quilt is all about the strength, gentleness and pain of being quiet. Here is the original design:
And here is a sweet little two minute video showing you the making of it thus far. Please note that I casted this quilt ALL IN ONE POUR!!!! All that time making molds was worth it - it's so much faster! Now I'm almost finished sewing it!
I'm so excited for you to see it when it's finished! Heck, I'm excited to see it too!
Soon these will be ready, plus an extra quilt I've had up my sleeve for a while now. You'll get to see it soon too.
It's so exciting to be speeding up the process! Now the real development can get going. I have so many ideas just waiting to come out. Thank you so much for staying with me to watch them unfold!
With Love and speedy stitching,
Jenny