Volunteer Spotlight: Jeannie McKetta
ACR would seriously not be possible without our amazing team of core volunteers! They bring their dedication and expertise to our organization everyday and help make ACR the fun and welcoming place it is. This quarter, we are putting a spotlight on one of those amazing core volunteers - Jeannie McKetta. An incredibly talented artist, teacher and writer, she brings her expertise in painting to ACR every week and is even teaching a painting class for us next month! Read all about why she loves ACR and what kind of art gets her ticking.
I will be leading a workshop at ACR on Saturday, September 16 called “Painting! From Random Clutter to Abstract Art.” If you want to come paint with me, sign up here!
What motivates you to volunteer?
When I’m not at ACR I tend to work seated, alone, and with words rather than with things; so I enjoy having a network of co-volunteers to perform discrete physical tasks with, for a change. And it’s nice to feel needed <3
Why ACR?
The first time I set foot in ACR, it all made perfect sense to me. This was in its previous location at the LINC, and it had nowhere near the square footage it does now. I could sense the other shoppers there felt the same buzz I did. Wall-to-wall stuff! Raw materials for whatever purpose you could imagine, donated by other crafters near you, and sold at prices that enable you to experiment! At home, I felt liberated from the pressure to keep leftover materials from past projects, because now I could donate them where they could still be useful to someone else. I wish every city had something like ACR. Like I say, it just makes perfect sense to me, and I love that I get to play a small part in the whole thing.
How long have you volunteered with ACR?
I became a core volunteer in January of 2023 after attending some community volunteering sessions in 2021. If you’re thinking about becoming a core volunteer, do it!
Are you more into the arts aspect of ACR or the conservation aspect and why?
I think the two go hand in hand. When I was little, my mom never threw out egg cartons until I had a chance to use them as palettes for tempera and craft paints. She and I have always brainstormed ways to reuse everyday materials to creative ends.
Also, artists tend to think with their hands, and if you need to buy new materials everytime you think, it can get expensive and wasteful pretty fast. As I’ve come to know professional artists, I’ve found that many of them are concerned with how their use of materials affects the planet and engages a larger environmental discourse.
If you want to read about two Austin artists who think about environmental conservation in creative ways, here are links to two articles I’ve written:
Under pressure: Bethany Johnson’s intimate sculptures conjure core samples from an Anthropocene age
Animal, vegetable, and mineral: A studio visit with Cheyenne Weaver
What do you enjoy the most out of volunteering at ACR?
I treasure having found a social environment where my nerdy materials expertise is appreciated. I specialize in sorting paint, and I don’t know where else in the world that niche skill has value to other people! Of course, I also like getting first dibs on the art materials I sort. I love ACR so much, and when I volunteer here, I feel like it loves me back.
Are you from Austin? If not, where are you from?
I have lived in Austin for 20 years now! Before that, I was in Houston, a wonderful city for art-lovers.
What other hobbies or interests do you like to spend time on?
I love painting, visiting art museums, reading about art, practicing Italian, and making stuff with the cool, creative kids in my life. I love visiting artists’ studios and talking with them about their work.
