Jenn Jones - inspiration from two of my newfound spirit animals

I'm feeling very inspired from the past 24 hours. tim harney's collage class is really feeding my soul. he talks a lot about how he uses collage as a way for his painters to realize their patterns and tendencies. i took that into my own account, and definitely related it to my own experience. my first few assignments very clearly showed all of my idiosyncrasies. it's been 4 classes, and i have already worked on improving and redefining the compulsions that drive my artwork.

Tim told me this particular piece of mine was good, and seemed really different from what i normally do, quote, "even though i don't even know you that well". it's funny how noticeable my work patterns are. his statement was spot on, and i was proud of the difference in this piece before he even pointed it out. it was a really cool thing to experience.



I'm happy to explore basic shapes, composition, color theroy, and just how my mind works when creating, in this class. tim also brings in a lot of artist books, and i was particularly interested in the work of shirley jaffe. her colors and shapes really speak to me, and make me happy. critics say her work has "joie de vivre" (joy of living), which is a new term i will bookmark. jaffe even was commissioned to design some stained glass windows in a church (14th-century chapel of St. John the Evangelist in Perpignan), which is really cool, and the whole concept really connects to some thoughts i've had about my thesis in the past.






I've also been repeatedly inspired by sister corita kent's work. i love everything about her bold shapes, color, lines, text, spirit, and love for the lord and for others. a lot of her work is text driven, and includes her messy handwriting. that component reminds me a lot of my sketchbooks, and makes me view them in a new, more important light. i'd like to use more of my handwriting in my final pieces, as suggested by John last week.









These two powerful female artists are going to be my best friends for the foreseeable future.

All of this inspiration and information is really exciting me to break out of my shell, and do something different with my thoughts. the unification a lot of my art exhibits is not a bad thing, it's just the same thing.

I'd like to take a spin on stained glass, and dig through my sketchbooks to find some sources of text. sometimes, ideas are just spinning and swimming all around my head, and i think it is my job to organize them and present them as clean as possible. but what if i just showed what's in my head?

I just had to document all of these wonderful thoughts i've had in the past 24 hours. and as a final statement, would you just look at this print by sister corita kent? my heart can't take it. yeah, she's my friend.