At that time, there were not really
any quilting books or current patterns
available, so Jean wrote instructions
for projects and made a little book to
sell.
In the years since then, Jean’s shop
has grown substantially, and her career
has blossomed in different directions.
Her daughter, fabric designer and
artist Valori Wells Kennedy, is now a
co-owner and helps manage the day-
to-day operations. Jean and Valori also
have a creative partnership and have
designed quilts and written books
together.
Teach like an artist
Teaching is still a passion, and she
teaches often at major art quilting
venues. Jean says she never tires of
watching students respond to the
techniques and ideas she introduces.
“I love to teach. It’s just my favorite
thing.”
She starts her multi-day classes
with short studies designed to help
students make decisions about color
and line. Next, she teaches them
how to stitch together what she calls
“strata,” strips of fabric cut without a
ruler. Her primary goal? To forge these
beginners into good decision makers.
“I want to develop independent
thinkers.”
Jean often takes classes herself,
noting that lessons with Rosalie Dace,
Judy Robinson, Nancy Crow, and Kerr
Grabowski have changed the way she
thinks about making her art. Taking
classes also teaches her lessons about
being a student that she applies to
how she runs her own classes.Inspired by nature and color
Her skill as an artist has blossomed
over the years, too. Jean’s current
work is inspired by things in the
Oregon landscapes around her likeplants, trees, and rock formations.
She often does a rough sketch on
paper and refers to it as she starts to
stitch, working intuitively until her
composition comes together. Jean’s
abstract, improvisationally pieced
work is serene but with hints of
tension or action in the small punches
of color, like bright tangerine or
fuchsia. “It was only a few years ago
that I had the courage to do this kind
of work,” she says.
Her fi rst objective is to create
something that pulls viewers in and
invites them to take a second look.
“I begin with a big idea and a size or
shape,” says Jean. “Then I pick a color
palette and really push each color
family. Instead of one red, I fi nd a
variety of reds.” As she starts to work,
she puts fabrics up on her design
wall in the proportion she thinks
they might be used and then lets
possibilities present themselves. “TheyPhoto^ by^ Paige^ Vitek