We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenny Keyser. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenny below.

Jenny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Art is about seeing, paying attention to the details. As a daughter of a perfectionist, I learned this at a very young age. That said, getting my Masters from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago pushed this thoughtful attention to detail more than I could ever believe.

I don’t think my learning could have been sped up. It has all been a process of growing and learning.

In spite of raising two beautiful children as a single parent, I believe my biggest obstacle is myself. It is up to me to work and have the drive to get it done.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Every morning I sit here with my coffee. It is one of my favorite places. I watch as the light changes over the horizon and the dew dries. The quiet air moves slowly around
me and the birds’ songs echo through the air. There is nothing quite like it. This space fills me with awe and grounds me at the same time.

For as long as I can remember, art has been a source of contemplation and healing. Whether it was following the art teacher at the school where my grandfather worked for a day as a young child or taking my first art lessons as a five-year-old in a southern Indiana artist’s barn of a home and studio. Art has always been a part of my life.

When I went to college, I found myself studying Biology as well as Art. In addition to my regular Biology classes, I was able to study both jewelry and painting for a summer in a small town in Italy through the University of Georgia. It was an amazing summer to say the least. Although I graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Biology, it was my studies in art during that Italian summer that I kept revisiting.

After graduation I landed my first job in a small private art gallery in New York City. There I became entrenched in the art scene. I ended my time in New York City managing a private fine jewelry label for a small New York City designer for four years. As much as I enjoyed the business end of running a jewelry design firm, I missed creating my own work. So, after moving to Madison, Wisconsin for family, I decided to start my own design firm. My jewelry was sold nationally at high-end boutiques as well as Barney’s New York.

Although I stepped back my production after my children were born, I still kept creating. Once my children were older, I found myself wanting more. In 2017 I received my MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where I studied interdisciplinary art. There my research focused on epigenetics and the effect environments can have on the human body for better or worse. For example, natural environments have been proven to calm the human body both psychologically as well as biologically. In fact, in Japan scores of people go to special forest preserves set aside to forest “bathe” and heal.

Recently, scientists have discovered that viewing art, like nature, has the power to create a similar healing environment. It is this quiet, healing space that I try to create with my landscapes, an environment where epigenetic transformations can occur for the better. We just have to take the time and space to see.

The intersection between science and art is something I have pursued for as long as I can remember. If you look and listen, my art tells a story. It reflects my philosophy and passions, places I have been and things I have seen. There is that broken shell on the beach that I couldn’t leave, the horizon that I cannot shake and the grace and colors of nature that I stand in awe of. It’s all there. My art is a diary of my life.

I have been honored to have my work shown internationally in museums and galleries. Additionally, my work has been acquired into the collection of Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon and the Joan Flasch Artist Book Collection at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I have also had pieces highlighted in a variety of publications and magazines.

My formal education includes a B.S. in Biology from Vanderbilt University, a Museum Studies Certificate from Northwestern University, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In a world that seems to be “spinning” faster every day, it is a quiet, healing space that I try to create with my art. I invite you to pull up a chair with a hot cup of coffee or tea and “be” with me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I went back to school for my masters in art at 45 years old. Most of my colleagues were less than half my age. As a Biology major in college, I didn’t remember the last time I wrote an academic paper, all my schoolwork was focused around scientific research. I didn’t understand “art speak” and every paper felt like I was climbing a mountain. I remember showing my CV to a girl in her twenties who worked in the career center at SAIC and she literally took a red pen and ex’d out a huge part of my CV and said that it was, “irrelevant”, too long ago, too old. I left feeling raw, sad, and, well, irrelevant. At that time my CV included designing and managing my own jewelry design firm. My pieces were sold nationally at Barney’s NY along with other high-end boutiques internally. My work was highlighted in a variety of publications including WWD and Mademoiselle and I had a piece acquired by the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon along with showing my artwork at Miami Basel. How was this irrelevant?

Sometimes you just have to believe in yourself, listen to your heart and keep going!!!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I do believe in the power of art. I believe that art can “heal” and that it can break down barriers. It can encourage discussion and can foster the individual voice. And so, as much as art has helped me, as much as it continues to guide me, I truly enjoy sharing and educating others on art.

When I was young I asked my Aunt why an abstract piece of art in a museum was there… why was it important and she answered, “because they did it first”….and then I started studying art history and learned the “whys”. For example, Mondrion started painting trees. If you look at the progression of his work through time it is understandable, and brilliant.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jennykeyser.com
• Instagram: @jennykeyserart

Image Credits
Thomas Pham was the photographer who took the “Balance Earrings” image.