“Art is a tactile experience to be shared. I am attracted to the molten glass, soft pliable clay, smooth silk, gas fueled torches, hammers and anvils are my tools. The direct manipulation of raw materials is the attraction. The glow of glass hot enough to drip, the sound of metal striking metal and the hiss of hot metal plunged into water. Acid eats and etches into metal. Dye spreads like water. Stones from the earth. The colors, subtle and romantic, bright and striking, warm copper, cool silver…they all have their own appeal, all of these tactile experiences are undeniably attractive to me as an artist.
My background as a Kansas native and farm kid allowed me to spend hours exploring our farm filled with old limestone buildings, rusty piles of scrap metal and glossy fresh green foliage. Hours in the car over a lifetime traveling from farm to city to cities further yet gave me thousands of images of Kansas recorded in my mind. Beautiful images of fields, grain bins and grain rippling in the wind. Closer to home, my Grandmother’s doilies dotted her home, protecting her furniture, ceramic figurines and overgrown philodendrons. All of these images have created a lifetime of imagery on which to base my work.”
Jennifer Mettlen Nolan was raised on a farm in Kansas near the rural community of Sylvan Grove. She earned her Bachelor’s of Fine Art degree with her certification in Art Education and her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Fort Hays State University under Linda Ganstrom. Jennifer accepted a teaching position at Dodge City Community College teaching ceramics, metalsmithing, design and art appreciation in 2014. Since then she has become part of the rich creative environment in Kansas by volunteering on numerous committees and boards including the Kansas Artist and Craftsman Association, the 2 nd Ave Art Guild and the Dodge City Public Art Commission. She regularly teaches workshops through the DCCC Art Club and the Missouri Bead Retreat.