Artist Spotlight: Jennifer Hill

Each month, we highlight one of the talented artists in our reuse community. This month, it’s fiber and textile artist, Jennifer Hill of Jennifer Hill Textile Arts!

Jennifer recently found her calling and passion as a textile artist, and lets the nature and materials around her inspire her creations. Continue below to learn more about her signature “Magicas” and why she loves ACR!

1. When did you start making fiber art?

I started making fiber art when I first visited Austin Creative Reuse on July 24, 2021. I wasn't looking for anything In particular, but I was drawn to all the unique yarns and some wreath forms. I had an idea to make a wall hanging-- something unique and inspired by nature. I've always admired people who could create such beautiful pieces with yarn, but I was never a knitter, and crochet didn't feel like my thing. Yarn felt intimidating, so I began wrapping the circle forms, making color choices, and letting my subconscious take over. Ideas began to take shape almost immediately.

2. Which aspect of creating is your favorite?

Around this time, I had just been diagnosed with severe onset tinnitus, a high-pitched, electronic-sounding tone in my head, that persists 24 hours a day. It was scary and maddening. I was trying to find ways to cope with this new condition and found myself needing to keep my brain busy and distracted. My first creative love was writing, but I couldn't concentrate and felt overwhelmed. Working with my hands in a repetitive way, combined with the healing sensory input of colors, textures, and nature's inspirations, I quickly found a perfect medium. I was able to express my inner life in ways that were surprising and beautiful.

3. Where do you get your inspiration?

I've learned to rely on my intuition and curiosity to guide my creativity. So, I started a series of pieces I called "Magicas," inspired by other sacred arts and crafts traditions like dreamcatchers, worry dolls, mandalas, and God's Eyes. I felt there was a mysterious quality to what I was working on. I developed different Magicas based on areas that inform my understanding of the world: nature, neuroscience, spirituality, and storytelling. I am now using circle forms, yarns, and other fibers to create sculptures based on the Vesica Piscis symbol.

4. What is your preferred way to engage with your audience?

I love interacting with people through workshops, shows, markets, and social media. I've discovered many amazing artists through various channels, and people's massive creativity constantly inspires me.

5. How does reuse play a part in your creativity?

A pillar of my work is that all the yarn I use comes from Austin Creative Reuse or other reuse sources. I source my circle forms from ACR, thrift stores, friends, family, or my local Buy Nothing group. Sometimes I have to purchase new forms, but they are all-natural or made of 100% recycled materials. Reuse helps me honor nature. Plus, I love foraging for materials. That's a big part of the creative process. I would not be an artist without the reuse community.

6. What compels you to donate to ACR?

ACR has changed my creative life forever. I feel compelled to give back and keep the source cycle going. I love the passion everyone affiliated with ACR has for sustainable art and empowering makers and teachers of all kinds. When I visit ACR, I enjoy asking fellow shoppers what they plan to make. Seeing people bring their voices, stories, art, and passion into this troubled world makes me feel good.

7. Do you have a favorite ACR find? How did you use it?

I found a ball of yarn that caught my eye. It was gray and bright pink. Something about that particular color combination spoke to me and sparked a change in how I started to think of how to depict nature. I love moody neutral tones, but I also love pops of color. You often see something stormy or calm juxtaposed against a vibrant color in my work. It's a mood I still use.

8. Where can we find out more about your work?

You can find my work on Instagram @jenniferhilltextilearts, on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TextileArtByJennifer, and on my website at http://www.jenniferhilltextilearts.com/.