Jeanne Wettlaufer
Staff Maker Monday
About the Artist
Name: Jeanne Wettlaufer
Medium(s): Clay, Textiles
Years creatiing: childhood
SCAA member: 1999
Based in: Wakefield, RI
instagram: JeanneBeanQueen (a nickname I got years ago)
Click an image to view slideshow
Where are you from, and what do you make?
I’m from the Chicago area, Elmhurst. Currently I knit, sew and create functional pottery…I also write/journal daily
How long have you been seriously pursuing art?
I have had periods of being serious about art, growing up we had a darkroom in our basement so I was into b&w photography from high school through mid-twenties. Called it my ‘fabulous photo factory’. When I turned 50 I was looking for a new medium and my dear friend Nancy Lyon said “come into my studio, play with clay!” I still feel very much a beginner but seeing as I'm 70 now I guess I’ve been in the studio for 20 years. Time flies!
What inspires you to create?
Nature is the number one inspiration. I consider farming an art too as I designed the fields with a design for function and beauty. After I left the farm I turned to garden design and installation. It’s an approach to anything you do.
Which artist outside of your chosen medium has had the most impact on your art? What do they do and in what way do they influence you?
It started with my mom, she was deeply creative, a painter, an interior designer, a clothes designer and more. As a child I was surrounded by art. We designed our xmas cards with linocuts, we tiled tables we built, she brought me to the Art Institute of Chicago on Saturdays for art class and then to her shared studio where I would hang out on the floor playing with the German toys Dreyfuss brought for me as they painted. I felt I really knew my way around the Art Institute and would often cruise on my own and meet her “at the altar”. A painting there, Song of the Lark by Jules Breton always drew my interest and to this day I have a print of it in my office. That I ended up farming as an adult seems the attraction to that woman in the field was strong.
Is there a work of art that has changed your life or how you view the world in some way?
I love mosaics I was so impressed with Chagall’s Mosaic in downtown Chicago “Four Seasons” that I thought I would love to create mosaics. I collected tiles and sorted them by color and when my glass table broke I thought it was the perfect time to create my own, only to realize I do not like creating them, just admiring them. The public art in Chicago is very vibrant and I look for art in pubic spaces every where I go. The High LIne in NYC has rotating exhibits along the trail and on the sides of the buildings as you take the walk. For me, the High Line is a perfect example of garden design and art intertwined, ready for anyone to immerse themself in.
As a member of SCAA, what do you like most about us?
When I came to SCAA for the pottery I really didn’t realize all that goes on besides that. As I discovered the depth of SCAA I got very involved, from the board for 6 years to now an employee. I love the scope of art I get to be surrounded with and the creatives of all kinds. The staff is a cohesive team that I feel grateful to be part of.