Totem, found object wall sculpture by Jennifer Beinnacker, Art Outside the Edge, Arlington, VA, exhibiting at ArtOMatic

Jennifer is one of the early hangers at ArtOMatic, and I was surprised and delighted to run across this piece in her exhibit.  Like my own Totems, it speaks to the reorganization of energy into something new and different.  I think I like this so much because it works the same way life does:  things get broken and fall apart (hearts, lives) and then they heal and something new and beautiful and quite unexpected emerges.  And your spirit goes, "Ah, that was what this was all about."  And it becomes not just okay, but really grand.

Jennifer has a sign-in/comment book in her space, so I took some pictures and left her a note and took her card.  Decided to go ahead and email her since she might not be back for a while, and her quick response matched her welcoming note in her comment book.

Then I decided it might be fun for all of you, dear readers, who aren’t close enough to enjoy the wild and woolly ArtOMatic energy, to see some of the work, and, where I can make contact, hear some of the voices of the ArtOMatic artists.

So I sent Jennifer a short interview and she wrote right back and so, here’s Jennifer!

What led to your creating this type of art? (and by "type" I mean:  it isn’t pretty and probably doesn’t match your everyday couch.)

"I love your description of "art matching couches"…’cause that’s how most people "buy" art…my work does have a dark side…which always surprises me as I am a very cheerful person…comes from somewhere deep inside…I was inspired by the work of Joseph Cornell and Gregory Gillespie (saw his work in one man show years ago in the Hirshhorn).  Gillespie worked in oil and collage…I had been working in oil.  I can’t draw at all and have all these images in my mind that I couldn’t quite transfer to "canvas."  Using collage as a medium opened up a whole new world of creation for me and allowed me to express what was in my mind’s eye.  I started in2d and one day saw a "found" object lying in the gutter and it’s been 3d/found objects ever since.  I have also been "inspired" by my numerous trips to the Southwest (the start of my "totem" series), Mexican/Central American culture…I love the colors and religious images…and my trip to India (2 years ago).  My all time most favorite museum is the visionary Art Museum in Baltimore…the madness of the art speaks to me.

Why did you choose to show in ArtOMatic?

I had visited 2 previous ArtOMatics.  some of the art there was "quite mad"…I mean that in a positive way.  since my art style is "not everyone’s cup of tea" (it takes a discerning art love to appreciate my art) I felt ArtOMatic would be a good venue for me and a way to "get my art out into the world" and see what happens!

Where else do you have your art?  Where can folks see more of your art?

I have no website…I am so "computer challenged!"  Hopefully one day I’ll figure out how to do a web site.  People can see my work in my studio in Arlington, VA.

Are you a full time artist?

Yes.

Do you have any tips for aspiring artists out there?

Keep working…creating art is something that I do because I MUST! If I don’t, then I feel incomplete.  I create my art for myself…if it speaks to others that is great, but not my main goal.  Don’t worry about "selling" (though that is nice)…just keep working working working…it’s not a "job" but a "love."

Here are two more of Jennifer’s pieces:  Offering,  and  Helena Series 4…the absence of

thought for the day:  In the world of negative work, where you are controlled, where power prevails and you are a mere functionary, everything is determined by an ethic of competition.  In the world of creative work, where your gift is engaged, there is no competition.  The soul transfigures the need for competition.  In contrast, the world of quantity is always haunted by competition.  If I have less, you have more.  But in the world of soul:  The more you have, the more everyone has.  The rhythm of soul is the surprise of endless enrichment….Imagine how lovely it would be if you could be yourself at work and express your true nature, giftedness and imagination.  There need be no separation between your home, your private life, and your actual world of work.  John O’Donohue, Ana Cara:  A Book of Celtic Wisdom