We recently connected with Jacqueline Swanson and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Growing up, during my married life and my working years, I always had the dream of becoming a full-time artist. Since my retirement in 2016 from the Minnesota Historical Society and moving to Eagan, I have had the freedom and luxury of devoting as much time as I deem necessary in developing an art practice. Richly textured mixed media collages were born that are designed to bring mystery and intrigue to the art viewer… hinting at places seen and mystical situations experienced. Combining a rich palette with imagination and metaphor, I strive as an artist to create depth and movement using carefully curated materials, processes along with fluid machine and hand stitching to lend a subtle texture and feel to [my] multi-layered artwork.

At an early age, my Mother and older Brother were artistic role models. I found immense pleasure creating and fabricating art projects out of whatever materials were available at home in Richfield, Minnesota.
As a student and graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), my artistic upbringing translated into the fashion design, printmaking, and painting disciplines. I was enamored by the Kay Nielsen illustrations from East of the Sun, West of the Moon and artists such as de Kooning, Kandinsky, and Rauschenberg.

My current style grew out of hand-built collographs, fabric appliqué landscapes, and white-on-white aeroscape collages. Eventually, handmade art cards with machine and hand-stitching, hand-dyed papers, fibers, copper, and other embellishments, developed into instantly recognizable forerunners to my present-day artwork.

In my evolving Mixed-Media Collages, I choose thought-provoking themes, a diversity of material combinations and a rich palette that creates whole worlds of depth and movement intermixing texture, image, and the element of surprise in my intricate, layered artwork. I am happiest when I am in the studio creating!

Jacqueline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

What I am most proud of is my dedication to my art practice and determination in getting my artwork out there and seen. It is difficult as an older creative and female artist to make this happen. Many artists fail in their endeavor to market their own work. It requires tenacity, boldness and stick-to-it-tive-ness. My work may not be for everyone; however, it is highly relatable and brings a sense of joy to my fans and viewers. I name all of my pieces, which I believe adds intrigue and asks the viewer to take a second look. Depth and texture and the occasional surprise element gives the viewer much to look at and discover. As I hinted earlier, my Mother and older Brother as creative role models, accelerated my own creativity. My mother, being a saver of everything under the sun amassed an arsenal of materials to choose from. She was always trying something new, sewing a new garment or taking a ceramics class. My brother, Roland could draw likenesses of characters and people and I could spend hours flipping through the pages of his sketchbooks for inspiration. I would have to add my Father in here, too, as he was a talented woodworker. Their inventiveness and ingenuity empowered my own creative path.
By the time I attended high school and later MCAD, I felt well-armed to grow and hone my skills and experience.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I think pricing and marketing resources would be very high on my list along with an artist organization that supports and grows the artists ability to connect with the public. I know that there are many organizations now that help a struggling artist, but I was ignorant of these connections in my earlier artistic journey.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is having a voice, expressing that voice through my art. Art to me is a spiritual experience. I put my whole heart and soul into making my art. Some days if flows easily and I amaze myself. Other times the journey is hard and heart-wrenching. You need to grow your whole person and strike a balance between all aspects of life in order to be a true artist and creative. An artist living in the present moment sees the beauty of the world wherever he/she looks: the play of light and shadow, a crack in the pavement, the fringe of trees against the amazing backdrop of a dramatic sunset. Who could ask for more than the ability to see and feel beauty in all things? “Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
“The purpose of art is to express the inexpressible.” – Hans Hofmann

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jackie.swanson.927
• Facebook: Jacqueline Swanson “ART by Jacque of Hearts” https://www.facebook.com/jacqueofhearts