A Conversation with Lisa Jennings: Healing and Greener Pastures
Published September 14th 2024
By Laurie Campbell Pannell
Lisa Jennings’ solo exhibition, “On the Wings of Blessings,” opened August 3rd and runs through September 29th at the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center in Hendersonville, TN. As a fellow artist and writer, I had the opportunity to catch up with Lisa at her solo exhibition to talk about her newest artworks and talking with her about continuing to make a living and sustaining a creative life through the inevitable challenges life can throw at us. After the pandemic and the recent loss of husband in the fall of 2019, abstract expressionist, and Nashville icon Anton Weiss, Lisa felt as if she were grieving loss while the whole world was tucked away during the pandemic. It was “a mixed blessing,” she shared. In the seven years of caregiving for her husband, Lisa found she had less time for art and had to set her tools aside for a season. But through these very hard years, she committed to a museum show and willed herself to create a new body of work. She did it and she showed up, surprising even herself with her “Coming Home” show held at the Customs House in Clarksville in 2021—a burst of work that shocked her into the flow again. “It primed the pump,” Lisa enthused. “It was such a challenge, but at the same time, the work kept me busy. While the world was shut down, I was grieving and creating.” It was as if the whole world were grieving and coming back to life along with her.
“On the Wings of Blessings,” runs August 3rd through September 29th at the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center in Hendersonville, TN
It’s great to catch up with you again and get to see your first solo exhibition. I remember interviewing you and your late husband, Anton Weiss, nearly two decades ago. Your works at that time were softly layered, figurative and abstracted, and also spiritually charged, like these are. What has changed for you in your artistic process across the years? What do your paintings, drawings and sculptures deal with in this newest body of work?
The premise of this collection I’ve created during the last five years shows the process of me finding myself again. I’m still exploring. It has been quite a journey. To have been so loose and expressive in my earlier works, and this work feels tighter and more literal, yet my sculptures remain very primitive, spiritual and contemporary. I love doing both, sculpture and paintings. I’ll be doing more sculpture this fall. It has been a journey—a rough ride, coming out of grief, and at the same time losing my best gallery representation in Memphis because the gallery was sold and changed direction. I am now showing my art at Bennett Gallery in Green Hills, Nashville, TN.
How would you describe your work?
Primitive, organic, almost whimsical, folk-like and spiritual. My art is my spiritual path, that is a discussion in itself. I bless myself and the space every time I work to be a clear catalyst for whatever wants to come through.
Handmade journals • Mixed media on pigmented papers
What are the primary mediums you’re working with today?
Oh it’s a big “yes” when I go down a stream full of stones, or walking the woods. I’ll spot something far off and I’ll call to my friends, “Look at that shape!” One time I found this beautiful hollow piece of wood that looks like a crown. I found it around a piece of root at the side of the river. The shape of it, looks regal. Those kinds of discoveries are treasures. With my found stones, I have been hunting them since I was little girl. It’s my mom’s influence. She taught us how to find precious and semi-precious stones and fossils the entire time growing up. I grew up in rural New York, Minnesota and then middle TN. As kids my mother would teach us how to create arts and craft pieces from our natural treasures.
“Sprite of the Forest” • Fungi, seed pod, crystals, beech, pigmented paper • 76” x 10” x 6”
So is walking part of your artistic practice?
Yes, walking and being in nature is my church and inspiration. Mother Nature is my healer and teacher.
You mentioned your mother. Tell me about your background, and what led to you becoming an artist?
My mother was also an artist and she loved to paint when she could squeeze in time raising 5 children. My mother was my first art teacher. I would sit quietly as little girl beside my mother while she painted. I grew up as a tomboy and had a toughness to me because I had four brothers. I wasn’t afraid to learn new things or stand up for myself, I had to. I think the nature aspect of my childhood played a role … the fact that I would get on my bike and disappear into my neighborhood and the woods for the day and not come home until the sun was going down. That was a huge gift, and it has stuck with me.
How long have you been an artist?
I knew I was an artist since I was a child. My mom was my first art teacher. There was this knowing that I was an artist. I felt it was my calling, actually. Anton was the same way.
What’s your favorite piece in the show?
My favorite? … “Greener Pastures.” It is literal because I feel I am in a much better flow in my life. I have struggled and suffered a lot with grief and depression, plus huge financial loss. So Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center and the people behind it have given me such an incredible opportunity, perfect timing in my life.
“Greener Pastures” • And detail of … • Pigmented paper, antique ledger paper, stitching, acrylic on canvas • 48” x 48”
This is a beautiful arts center, and your works are exhibited in such a reverential way, as if within a tranquil sanctuary, depicting your journey as an artist.
Everyone here has been so supportive. I am also a teacher and on the healing arts team here. The healing arts outreach program goes into the community, working with and serving at-risk people through the healing nature of art. I am honored to be part of their team. We hold healing art classes here at the MAC like todays workshop I taught, called Finding Flow and Joy with Watercolor. I also teach my mixed media courses here, and at my home studio too. I like teaching. As an artist, I am alone so much. Teaching is a way to socialize, but also a way to give forward and serve. It’s a way to inform and empower people in their own artistic talent. It’s like Maya Angelou’s quote: “When you learn, teach; when you get, give.” I have that balance of alone time in the studio, but a part of me likes to joke and be silly and nurture people. I get a lot of fulfillment out of it. I have been teaching many years. My mom was also a teacher. And the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Arts Center was so generous to give me this solo exhibit.
Yes, you’ve been in so many group, solo and duo exhibitions in the past, but this is your first solo show in many years! Your exhibition culminates in an artist’s talk the evening of September 19th. Give us an idea of what your artist’s talk may go like?
I’ll cover the journey I’ve been on, sharing what transpired and how my work has evolved and is evolving. I’ll discuss mixed media and my practice as an interdisciplinary artist.
Do you have any literary inspirations behind this most recent work?
Oh yes, I use Mark Nepo writings to inspire my work, and a lot of John O’Donohue, an Irish philosopher and poet, because they are spiritual and refer to nature and the Celtic spirituality. I studied with O’Donohue in Ireland a year before he passed away. I am drawn to the written word. Also Mary Oliver is an influence.
You’re navigating new circumstances now working solo in your studio. What was it like having two artists in the family?
It was interesting because early on in my relationship with Anton, I faced jealousy head-on because we were open and talked about it. I really came to terms with who he was and is — a monumental master artist. We were truly respectful and supportive of one another. There was a beautiful love and understanding between us with a lot of humor and laughter. He was a prankster … he loved to mess with me and knew all the buttons to push.
Being with another creative is …
I really enjoyed it. We were each other’s confidante and cheerleader. He instilled in me how much he believed in me. That’s one of the reasons I’ve kept going after he passed away. He was very passionate and fiery, and we had arguments just like everybody else, yet we managed them. We complemented each other. I was very feminine, and he was very masculine. We enjoyed and respected each other’s process. We were a unique couple so suited for one another despite our 26 year age difference.
“Messenger of Good Tidings” • And detail of … • Found stone, porcupine quills, Indian money, chrysocolla, copper mango paper in old cutting board • 22” x 10.5”
I see a bit of that abstraction and expressionism in your work. Which painters are artist influencers for you?
Oh so many … Anton Weiss, Romare Bearden, Kiki Smith, Joni Mitchell, Rothko, Friedlaender, Deibenkorn, Carol Cloar and Frida Kahlo from the standpoint of her personality and the storytelling aspect of her work, her resilience and tenacity. I definitely have tenacity too, I know that.
Tell me about your studio practice, your painting, collage, and sculpting process … what is your creative process like?
In the morning when I wake up, I have quiet time. meditate and read a snippet of something. I’ll eat breakfast, maybe take a long walk in the woods. I go to the studio between 9-10am. I work as late as 6pm. I don’t work at night. I never want to work nights again, as I did for many years. Of course there is music playing. Music is a very important aspect of my work. I listen to music of all different genres, from opera, classical & choral to African jazz to Andalusian Acapella singers. I grew up in a home full of music and art. My father was a singer, musician and songwriter. I have a love for different cultures and spiritual practices … sometimes I’ll even bless myself with sage or incense. The music I listen to can be shifted to a podcast by the end of the day when I am really tired. I drink lots of water throughout the day. I feel so blessed because my studio is right behind my house. It’s a freestanding building. After going through so many challenges and caregiving both parents and my spouse you recognize the gifts and blessings that you have around you.
Your studio is picturesque. You call it the “candy-land” of mixed media art. I love that! What other mediums do you explore?
I am taking an online course with Wen Redmond. She uses photography in her mixed media work. I’d like to see and experiment how to integrate it into my work because I love taking photographs. I’m also doing a book study with a group on the book called “The Other Side” “A Study of Women in Art and The Spirit World” So that is some experimentation and exploring that’s happening.
What projects are you working on next? What’s next for Lisa Jennings?
I’ll be sculpting more in the fall, and this course with Wen Redmond and the book study will be great. Possibly I will be hosting an Open Holiday Art Sale at my studio too in early November! Stay Tuned.
Like most artists, I can see that just about everything in your life is treated in an artful way, right? What other things in your life do you approach artistically?
I love to cook. I have a roommate and Airbnb guest that I cook for occasionally and or my studio mate. I used to cook for my large family gatherings. I like to cook simple peasant meals. Salmon, broccoli, sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables. Tuna salad for lunch.
I used to play piano, and took lessons for 10 years. My father played the French horn and studied literature. He was into a lot of church music and was a soloist. I tried the music route too, but I lost track of my music along the way, not wanting to carry that piano around moving from place to place.
I have been staying so busy teaching, creating and being interviewed. You may want to listen to the podcast that was created in conjunction with the arts center. It’s called “Celebrating Art and Nature” on MAC Talk on Spotify. They have marketed the show heavily. A press release has been sent out, my artist statement along with postcards and marketing materials are all available here at the Pavilion Gallery. I am also showing large and smaller works at Bennett Galleries in Green Hills. They carry both my paintings and sculpture. I also just had work placed in Williamson Medical Center. Anton and I are also both represented with our works showcased on all the floors of the Williamson Bone and Joint Center.
That makes me want to go get my foot x-rayed or something to see your works! Thank you so much for your time today, and I know your show will be so well received!
Review of the Show is Below
Lisa Jennings’ first solo exhibition in a few years, “On the Wings of Blessings,” is being held through September 29th at the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center’s Papillon Gallery in Hendersonville, TN. Featuring representative paintings, sculpture, and artworks of mixed media, the show reveals what has been guiding the artist throughout the last five years.
Lisa’s artworks are inspired by nature, which offers a solace for artist and viewer. The works invite conversations about what it means to live authentically to the fullest, embracing life’s ups and the downs and taking it all in stride. As a mixed-media and interdisciplinary artist, Lisa works in acrylic, pigmented papers, found wood, stone, and found objects. Lisa makes art about themes surrounding the natural world and the resilience of the human spirit. Her work stem from her healing practices of multi-media artmaking to help find flow and joy in art and life. She is also a teacher, sharing the art of creating with others to demonstrate the therapeutic power of self-expressive art.
Lisa’s paintings, sculptures, and handcrafted art journals in this exhibit seem right at home in the beautiful art center, an antebellum mansion which once served as a hospital during the Civil War. The gallery space is intimate and narrow, inhabited by sculptures that feel humanlike in scale and surrounded by naturalistic collages of paint and torn pigmented paper, collected ledgers and found objects, threads and memories. These carefully created textiles and artworks personify the artist herself, creating images that are at once warm and approachable, light and optimistic with a depth that feels protective and devoted.
Upon closer inspection, the artworks draw one in with layers of details that hint at stories of how the artist has sustained a creative life, often with struggles, to emerge more empowered. Her pathway has been a complicated one that has yielded tremendous inspiration and love along the way. Lisa has been driven to create no matter what—despite hardships and sometimes because of them. Art itself is the motivating factor—an artist’s need to create to make sense of life and find one’s way through it, emerging all the stronger for it.
The opening reception of Lisa Jennings’ solo exhibition, “On the Wings of Blessings,” was held on Saturday, August 3rd. The exhibition will also host an artist talk on Thursday, September 12th, from 6.30-7.30p.m, including refreshments and a chance to meet the artist and ask questions about her artistic process. To learn more about Lisa, visit LisaJenningsArt.com. For more information, please contact the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center at 615.822.0789.
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Lisa Jennings’ solo exhibition, “On the Wings of Blessings,” runs August 3rd through September 29th at the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center in Hendersonville, TN. An opening reception was held on Saturday, August 3rd, and the exhibition will host an artist talk on Thursday, September 12th, from 6.30-7.30p.m, including refreshments and a chance to meet the artist and ask questions about her artistic process. To learn more about Lisa, visit LisaJenningsArt.com. For more information, please contact the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center at 615.822.0789. Lisa will also be giving na artist talk about the show on September 19th.
Laurie Campbell Pannell is a Nashville writer and artist who just graduated from Belmont University with a master’s degree in fine art. To learn more about Laurie, visit LaurieCampbellPannell.com.