We were lucky to catch up with Jennie Schut recently and have shared our conversation below.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I had four babies in 9 years, was a stay-at-home mom and found that my creative expression was disintegrating like an ice cube in a warm drink. I signed up for a drawing class at a local rec center (my last art class was in 7th grade) and found that I could draw. After this epiphany, I returned to college after dismally failing as a teen (I was 17 when I started college) and young adult. With 4 small children, it took me 7 years to finish my Fine Arts degree and I’ve been a Studio Artist ever since. I went on to write about my creative awakening and published it and have led many women through the same awakening. Every risk I’ve taken has brought me to this very moment, the present moment, in which my whole life is encapsulated. I am primarily a painter. I have a woodshop in which I build my painting panels. I prefer to paint on a wood surface. I prefer the rigidity of the surface and love to participate in the process of preparing the ground from beginning to end. I also make frames and porch bed swings when the mood hits. I reserve canvas stretching for my copper trees. I’m also an Encaustic artist. After earning my BFA in studio painting, I went on to receive a Spiritual Direction certificate and I am a trained Enneagram professional. I am currently working toward a Somatic Enneagram certification. The big dream is to run a retreat house here and abroad.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There is nothing like the feeling of making something that someone wants to purchase. An artist makes, labors, creates, ultimately, just loving the process of making. When a client is so connected to a piece that they want to purchase, what an exhilarating feeling. And that explains the reason people want to see the making process. They want to feel connected to a piece. I learned this when I did a live painting a few years back. It transformed the way I thought about the process. In order to feel connected to a piece, potential buyers want to know the back story. They want to see a process being birthed and coming alive and what the reasons are behind creating it in the first place. It is so lovely when viewers are invested in a piece for its storytelling.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I graduated with a studio art degree in 2013. I divorced after being married for 21 years in 2015. I went from doing things in the studio for fun and learning, to doing art as my livelihood. That was a huge shift for me, and I am still trying to figure it out. I do know this: being an artist requires risks. Every. Day. When one ceases to take risks, one ceases to be an artist. My big dream is to run an artist retreat house in Italy, while doing my art. I am aware that every risk I’ve taken up to this point has led me to this current clarity. There will be many risks ahead if I am to achieve this enormous dream. There is the daily practice of grounded being and centeredness that is not optional for this life and these dreams. As an artist, one must reach for internal resources as opposed to outward affirmation that comes and goes, if one is to keep showing up and continue to do the things that one is called to do. This is the difference between vocation and means to an end. There are many things I can do and do well, but my calling is what I do best and what I derive the most joy and fulfillment from. “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and world’s deep hunger meet”. ~ Frederich Buechner
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jennieschutart.com/ https://www.flyforwardstudio.com/
- Instagram: @jennieschut
- Facebook: Jennie Schut
- Linkedin: Jennie Schut
- Youtube: @jennieschut8418
Image Credits
Abbye Durr – me painting outside