jennie kohl austin

This piece was done for a public art project, wherein our only direction was “a star”.   

Sponsored by Goldenrod Printing, Inc. (sold – Private Collection)

Inspirational Statement:

In “String Theory: The Strength of Our Woven Community”, the stars represent the City of Lincoln, surrounded and supported by a diverse mix of women as artists, all a little rough around the edges but continuously growing. The colorful threads symbolize the links between humanity regardless of race or culture, and the use of the heritage craft of piecework quilting emphasizes the importance of the role of women in this historic community.

This piece was part of the Star City Art Project – 2006. For more info, visit http://www.ywcalincoln.org/START2006.html.

Here are some additional pics of the process:

A friend introduced me to this book recently, Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. If you haven’t learned this about me yet, I have an unusual attraction to self-improvement books and programs. If you haven’t read this book or done the assessment, please, do so immediately!  The insight it gives is meaningful and may very well change your outlook on your entire life. 

The concept is that while we all know our weaknesses, we overlook the value of our strengths.  We should focus on our strengths!

Here’s how I stand:

Ideation
People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Activator
People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Strategic
People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

Input
People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

Learner
People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

I’m reading this book:

I picked it up in Hilton Head at the conference I went to back in December.  Eric Maisel is a wonderful author, also the author of Fearless Creating.  I was excited because he was to be a speaker at the conference, but for some reason his seminar was cancelled!  I flew ALL THE WAY to Hilton Head just to see Mr. Maisel speak of creativity coaching…OK, so his planned presence was just a bonus but I was terribly disappointed to have missed him.  (So if you’re reading this Eric you owe me a seminar!)

Anyway, if you are blocked or simply want to get a little more “flow” going, I highly recommend this read.

Here’s another piece I did last year, I call SunDream.  There’s a little story to go with it…

“SunDream”, is representative of a unique experience I had a few years ago. I had minor surgery, and if you’ve ever been fully anesthetized you know that it leaves you feeling as though you have walked the line between life and death. When I woke up at home, I was still in a great deal of pain but was driven, inexplicably, to get up and paint this huge sun on the wall in my kitchen. I sent a photo of it to my Mom, and when she received it she immediately called me. Apparently, the sun I painted was eerily similar to the sun medallion that was buried with my Grandmother’s ashes – a medallion I had never seen and didn’t know existed.

The purpose of this quilt is to honor and remember my Grandmother as she was a great artistic inspiration. She was an Art Education professor at the University of Nebraska and a working artist, even into her retirement. She created the most amazing paintings and everything around her was beautiful and colorful. Her spirit has had a profound influence on me as an artist.

The sun in my quilt represents my inspiration and it’s glow is what nurtures my creative growth. My garden grows with the creative inspiration of my family and those I love, shining down and allowing me to clearly see which direction to go.

“SunDream” was entirely handmade, using 100% cotton fabrics, accented with glass beads and wooden letters. The sun is made of a gold-spattered batik fabric which is appliqued to the surface of a pieced background with a top-stitching technique. The quilting on the top is reminiscent of rays of sunlight, and each “ray” is accented with delicate beads. There are tiny wooden letters, each hand-painted purple and over-sprayed with gold to coordinate with the sun fabric. The letters spell out the following:

WHEN SHE WOKE UP FROM HER DREAM

SHE HAD A VISION OF THE GOLDEN SUN

The back is quilted with hand-stitched sun rays, some of which are also accented with beads. The piece contains two layers of cotton batting quilted together and finished with binding in the same fabric as the sun. It’s finished size is approximately 13″ x 13″.

Here’s the original sketch and some process pics:

And the back…the fabric is shiney so the pic looks a little weird:

Here’s my actual logo, should you be interested…I tried printing it on fabric a while back! Thanks Robert!

I call these Squiggles, completed in 2006, followed by a few shots of the process and materials. 

 

 

 

A few of my favorite photos from my visit to Hilton Head Island, SC:

Here’s another project I did at Hilton Head…fiber art earrings!

In case you ever wondered, this is what I look like!  Thank you Anthony!