That's Kind of Dark. show thoughts!

i'm happy with how the show came out. i made a lot of decisions the two weeks before we hung the show, and made a lot of new work as well. it was a hectic two weeks, i felt like all of my thoughts were finally reaching a destination, though, so the work felt good to do.

after realizing i wanted my subject matter to be more uplifting, i made two abstract pieces about light itself. one questioning if light is something you see, or something you feel/believe, referencing to God as light, and how sometimes you don't see God in your life, yet you feel his presence. i imagine closing my eyes after reading this sentence, and thinking about the way light feels on my skin. thats why it is just sun rays in the print, and not the sun itself. even though you can't see the sun you still know its warmth.

my second abstract piece expresses how light, or God's light, is for all of us. the sun shines for everyone. the radiance of the sun covers everything.

i'm happy i pulled through with including some abstract work in my show. it was something i was suggested earlier in the year by jesse, and something i saw evident in corita kent's work. i realize, when talking about a big topic, sometimes expressing the topic abstractly works best, because it lets the viewer do some work in interpreting it. it makes the art reach more people, and lets people spend a bit more time with the piece, instead of the piece speaking for itself literally, which is what i normally tend to do.

i then pulled two prints about the crucifixion, relating one to the new moon and new beginnings. the other shows the lamb of God. they are both embellished with leaves to show that although the crucifixion was a horrible event, it is sacred, and beautiful, because of what it brought; salvation. so i decorated these two symbols with nature. it also reflects how dark times are natural.

i really feel like my show is the end of a funnel. all the pieces express things i've been saying over and over all year. and that's kind of what i wanted; to say everything i wanted to about what i was thinking about.

i also used physical light for some things! i talked about this before too so i was glad to do something about it. i spent a lot of my time in my studio thinking, getting really personal with my thoughts, reading scripture, reading articles, and doing a lot of writing. i had a lot of revelations (i'm glad we called the show that!). so i wanted to include some of my revelations, hand written, so they acted as a kind of personal message/hymn. i used bits of my writing primarily through these two pieces that involved physical light.
the first being this piece of neon i custom ordered, framing vinyl in the middle.

this piece is about how we reflect the light of God, just like how the moon reflects the light of the sun. i love using parallels of nature to our relationship with God. the glow of the neon was the perfect visual for expressing this thought.

my second piece using light was kind of last minute, but i am proud nonetheless. i really broke out of my usual materials and composition with this one.

i'm not exactly sure what drove me to decide on this composition for the banners. part of me was thinking of a tall, grand church, with tall columns and windows, and billowing white banners. my old church had tall windows and banners on the alter. my subconscious was surely at work.

the banners looked brilliant in the light and floated as physical manifestations of some of the revelations i had when in my studio.

i'm so proud of this print. it is 8 layers, and i did an edition of 10. i spent a lot of time on the craftsmanship and integrity of the print, and it is my best silkscreen work to date. the last layer was the black layer, and pulling it was so satisfying. it really made me realize how beautiful and important the darkness is, because it allows our light to be illuminated.

oh, what do you know, ANOTHER last minute print! i actually was not even planning on including this in my show. but, after hanging everything up and realizing i underestimated how small my vinyl title was, i realized there was a big empty space. so i went to my studio to find something to hand. and i found a pencil drawing of this print. so the next day i drew it digitally, burned a screen, printed a bunch, dried one with a hair dryer, and hung it up at like 9pm. this was one of my favorite sketches so i'm glad i made a final piece out of it. its something that references the new moon as a new beginning and not something void of purpose. when we are feeling empty, perhaps we are not empty. perhaps we are just becoming new.

i'm talking about moons again. i just really like the metaphor. this is a small hand sewn pamphlet of compiled scripture i included in my show. i really think that reading the bible one on one, unfiltered through any priest or advocate, is a very sacred, personal, and pure thing. i wanted to include some of that purity in my show for context, relating it all to the new moon and how phases of darkness in our lives are natural and reveal our need for light. it was also nice to include something that could be held, and interacted with.

 
 
 

i'm proud of the message i conveyed and the work i did. there's always things that can be better but i pulled off a good show and i'm content. the whole experience got me thinking a lot about how to prepare for showing work in the future. you definitely need to consider the intention of your work, and how people will interpret it, and how they will react to it. my intention for my show was to have people consider how bad times can be good, and to see proof of that in religion, and in nature, because they are all very deeply connected. i wanted to give christianity a good rep, because it is a rep that is sadly damaged. one thing i wish i could have done was sell prints or sell the scripture books, or have handouts to give. when there's nothing physical to take away from a show, you only have your thoughts, and people will forget. but, part of me really just wanted to show my work and that was it. i didn't want to try and make a lasting impression on anyone, or celebrate myself by selling prints. i just wanted to say what i had to say, and leave it at that. and that's what i did.

i'm really proud of everyone. the gallery looked so amazing and everybody's topics were so intriguing and so diverse. it was so wonderful seeing everyones thoughts come to fruition.

 

 

WOO

jenn jones ~ photos from install - open

jenn jones: "oof. that's kind of dark" (FEEDBACK APPRECIATED PLS)

if its anything i've learned so far, its that you absolutely positively cannot have light without darkness. in a way, after trying so hard to focus on light this entire year, my thoughts have always been going back to darkness. entropy. we cannot always be lights. and we don't have to worry about the light leaving us, because it is not generated from us; it is from something bigger.

whenever i get a good idea for a concept, i sometimes think to myself "gosh. that's kind of dark". and that's funny to me, since i'm such a happy person, and i'm trying so hard to make art about light. i thought that might be a good idea for a show title.

i've been holding back on God words and God imagery. honestly, i'm afraid of how people will perceive things like that. not many people enjoy religion very much. and my art is usually just pleasing to the eye, and heartwarming. i hardly ever show my existential / very spiritual / very christian side. but that's something i need to just get over. i have something i want to say, and that's all that matters in the end.

and not going to lie, coming to this realization has made me kind of giddy with excitement. almost like, i want to tell everyone about this! because christianity has become warped by many bad people who think they are doing good things. i want to voice my side, plus scripture, minus theirs. offering anybody a fresh take on a religion that has saved me over and over again is cool. i can't help if talk of religion rubs someone the wrong way, because that doesn't discern me. i'm doing this out of peace.

here are three illustrations paired with verses that help explain my concept how God is light, and darkness is an integral part of life.

this one is self explanatory. i drew this last semester and am more than glad to bring it back.

i got this idea thinking about how Christ is the lamb of God, and it took such a dark thing such as the crucifixion to bring salvation to the world. to make sure jesus was dead, a soldier thrust a lance into his side. so this is a lance in a lamb.

this is about persevering through hardships. the praying hands are literally dead, but still praying. because we all feel dead sometimes. and the olive branches resemble hope and peace of good things to come. i may find a new verse for this illustration, but i like this one for now.

since i have the space by the window, i would like to touch these up and screen print them onto something the sunlight could shine through. either that, or just on paper, and then i can come up with something else to use with the sunlight.


i'm feeling a lot better. and i'd really appreciate feedback/critique!

jenn jones - spring break thought/art dump

at first i realized i didn't want my focus to be just on light. then, i realized i don't want it to be just on darkness. now, i realize i want my focus to be on the balance / the ebb & flow between the two.

i cut my own linen for a prototype of a flag. i have the outline of the moon in between an olive branch which resembles peace to come, and a fig which represents perseverance. (i'll only include such symbolism if i'm able to communicate it clearly, this is just studio wall stuff).

as you can see, i realize i know next to nothing about fabric. so i found an etsy that makes custom cotton banners and am planning some designs. the three below are a new moon, the outline/absence of the moon with the olive branch to symbolize hope/peace, and then the moon's light slowly returning. this is closer to explaining the concept of the natural ebb and flow of the world and how it can relate to our lives as well. i also threw out the name 'ebb and glow' as a title but can't tell if its stupid or not.

^ banner from the etsy!

^ these were my preliminary designs for flags, but i'm not sure how i feel about the text.

i've also been thinking a lot about how light isn't just something you see, it's also something that you feel. whether its physical warmth, or mental.

i made a design of the sun's rays, minus the sun. the colors give off a warm glow, and after messing around with the contrast, i liked when the two colors were barely indistinguishable. at first it looks like one rectangle of color, then up close you can see the pattern. its kind of psychedelic which isn't something i intended but don't really mind? i'd like to develop this further, and do a large two layer screen print of the sun's rays, and possibly add some text.

^ this is my planning for the rays. i like the idea behind this sentence but cannot for the life of me figure out how to say it. i'll work on that.

i also have this:

i tend to draw a lot of little things. so, a small suite of drawings in my show, and also small prints for sale, or even stickers, are all things in the back of my mind. this detached hand is something i like to draw. the overall meaning of this is that 'its okay!'. even if you feel like you're dying! the light will come back soon.