About

I have always tried to look at the world a little differently and I have found art to be the perfect outlet for my observations.  

I like to use art as a way to question people’s perceptions of the world and pose the idea that maybe things are not always as they seem, or that they don’t always have to be.  

I grew up in Kensington, Maryland, and because of its close proximity to Washington, DC I was fortunate enough to have access to many of the art museums there, the Hirshhorn and the Renwick Gallery being my favorites.  I then went on to study at Kenyon College, a small liberal arts school in rural Ohio, where I majored in Studio Arts.  Going to Kenyon allowed me to study a diverse range of subjects which gave me a more complete understanding of how visuals and artistic thinking apply to almost everything.  

Going to school out in rural Ohio not only allowed me a peaceful place to study, but also the chance to develop an intimate connection with nature and how humans interact with it.  And since I am a distance runner I spent many hours going on runs down the long, quiet roads that curve through the beautiful Ohio countryside.  This connection to nature was part of the inspiration for my senior project, which was a gallery exhibition of sculptural chairs made of wood and sculpted into nature inspired shapes to reference the connection that humans have with nature outside and our own crafted environment inside.

Also relating to my interest in perception, while I was experimenting in different mediums trying to figure out what I work best with, I developed an interest in Op Art, which is art that uses different colors and patterns to create optical effects.  Inspired by Op Art I made a series of paintings that used optical effects in bold geometric designs as a way to show that the way things are perceived is always affected by previous perceptions and personal point of view.

At Kenyon I developed skills in different mediums including graphite and charcoal drawing, wood, metal, digital and darkroom photography, printmaking, pen and ink, paint, pastels, and ceramics; but I found that drawing and sculpture where the mediums that felt most natural to me.  My favorite art classes that I took were Figure Drawing and Animal Sculpture. 

I would describe my artistic style as very playful and imaginative.  I like to use art as way for me to search for something under the surface of the obvious and try to see the magic in our world.  I hope that my art is able to persuade viewers to question the world around them look at ordinary things from a new perspective.  

Contact

jennamwillett@gmail.com