Whether on campus or off, we are connected as members of the Arrowmont family. Over the next few weeks, we are going to share stories from our community of instructors, residents, and students in a new series, Arrowmont Connections.
Jennifer Wells is a studio artist and educator, originally from the U.S., who lives and works in Italy. She has completed several residencies at Arrowmont, the Pocosin Arts in Columbia, North Carolina and at the Jentel Foundation near Banner, Wyoming. She teaches workshops on various enameling and metalsmithing techniques throughout Europe and the U.S. Wells serves on the Board of Vita Institute, and her work is in the collection of the Enamel Arts Foundation and the Racine Museum.
Jennifer was scheduled to teach a summer workshop, TEXTURE AND COLOR, August 2 – 8, 2020. The workshop was designed to explore the traditional enameling technique of basse-taille.
Jennifer says about her work,
“My work is greatly informed by my surroundings.”
“I seek out texture and pattern in the natural and manmade environments in which I find myself, and these elements inform my work. Finding their way into pieces directly or abstracted. I intend for the viewer to glimpse just enough to trigger their own memory and enact a sense of nostalgia or familiarity. I continuously flow between jewelry, vessels, sculpture and drawing with each process informing the others.”
In response to COVID-19, Jennifer has been creating a new body of work as a meditative therapy interwoven with hope.
She writes, “As fear for my family and loved ones, the majority of whom are across an Ocean, grips me, at moments overwhelming me… I try to keep moving. Fortunate to live on a farm and able to go for walks, I begin to gather olive branches from the recent pruning. The branches are malleable and I begin to look at them as lines… how can I converse with them? The olive tree is a major part of life here, in Tuscany and generally considered the symbol of peace, unity and healing. In this moment what more could we hope for.”
“Taking the branches and wrapping them around themselves, to me, represents a holding of ones self, a hug or interlocked hands. The beads created for the necklaces, reference counting and the passing of time. Transferring the branches into jewelry was a natural second step for me, and with it the knowledge that these may be worn to serve as a reminder of: peace, unity and healing.”
In addition to daily walks and jewelry making, Jennifer created “Olive Branch Necklace – 40 days and holding.”
“This necklace has 40 beads, to represent the traditional 40-day quarantine, which was based on biblical events that held the number 40. The center pendant brings the focus to the interwoven branches, representing a holding of ones self, a hug or interlocked hands.”
Jennifer Wells’ website: jennwells.com
Contact Jennifer:
Instagram: @jennifer_n_wells
LinkedIn: @jennifer-wells-59168039
Facebook: @jennifer.wells.16718979
