Fruits of the sun (for all the unknowns)
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Welcome to the art project, Fruits of the sun (for all the unknowns). Throughout summer 2017 I hosted pop-up portrait drawing sessions at locations around Portland, inviting participants to sign-up as live models. In exchange for sitting for a 20 minute session I gave each participant a $10 farmer's market token or grocery store gift card. Participants did not keep the drawings, as I told them they were ephemeral objects, but I did want to recognize the gift of their time, presence and image and acknowledge my personal and professional privilege in the exchange. 

I made sixty seven 11x17 inch portraits. 
This project idea came to be after I attended a panel discussion about art and activism. The main question I left with was how can I cultivate empathy through art making? This is a question fraught with potential missteps and traps, but it is also one that I believe could use critical examination. As a white, female artist I did not want to exert my power over participants, but hoped to open up a dialogue around ways art can be a tool for connection. Almost none of the participants had had their portrait represented by an artist before this time. I had many conversations with them about the historical privileges around representation in art. I am deeply appreciative of each participant and the time that we spent together. 

This project was an attempt to get out of my studio and comfort zone as an introvert. By observing and recording the faces that exist in the world around me I sought to connect on a new level to my fellow Portlanders. What do these faces say? Are they haggard, youthful, nervous? How can I express our common humanity through art mediums? Is the drawing secondary to the interaction?  
The drawings were made with handmade paper embedded with various types of seeds. On Thursday August 3rd I exhibited all the drawings at the Portland Art Museum for a one night pop-up exhibition. The drawings were planted in partnership with the Urban Farm Collective at their Fargo Food Forest Location on Friday, September 15th. At the Food Forest the paper acted as fertilizer for the seeds, and the drawings decayed.
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I hope that by making ephemeral objects that I can encourage viewers to think about the fragility of life and that decay can lead to new growth, transformation and possibility. By letting go of the physical object into which I put my labor I am focusing on the activity of art-making. Documenting and sharing the project online is a way for the images to live on beyond their physical form. Some of the questions I asked myself around this work are - How can I shift my work to question the commodification of art objects and people? What is my relationship to the value of labor (especially in relation to art making)?  How can my work act as a catalyst to connect and foster community?  

As you navigate through the blog entries on the website you can view all of the portraits and most of the models who participated (not everyone wanted to be documented), and get a glimpse into the process of making the project come to life. 

Portrait Planting with Urban Farm Collective at Fargo Food Forest 9/15

9/28/2017

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Time to Plant the Portraits!

9/12/2017

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Wonderful news - I've found a planting location for the drawings! You are invited to participate in the final 2017 event for the project on Friday, September 15th from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

At this event I will be giving half of each portrait to participants who would like to take away seed paper to plant in their own garden. The other half will be planted at the Fargo Food Forest to be shared with the community. The seeds in the drawings are varieties of lettuce, kale, spinach, squash, broccoli, and Oregon wildflowers.

When planted the paper will act as fertilizer for the seeds, and the drawings will decay. At the beginning of this planting event I will give a short talk about the project. I hope you can join us! I am so excited to be partnering with the Urban Farm Collective as the work they are doing is amazing! The Fargo Food Forest is located at the corner of NE Fargo and N Williams, right next to The Waypost.

To RSVP for the planting event visit the Facebook event HERE.

This project would not have been possible without the generous support of a Regional Arts & Culture Council project grant. 

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Navigating the Unexpected

8/31/2017

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Life has taken a complicated turn. I have to remind myself to breathe. Five days after the Pop-Up Exhibition at Portland Art Museum I experienced a very traumatic and life altering event. 

At 1 am on Wednesday, August 9th, my husband and I were awoken by the sound of someone pounding on our front door. When dashing out of bed to investigate, we saw a wall of flame outside our upstairs window. There was a fire right next to our house. A fire crew was trying to get us out.

Thanks to the quick work of the fire response teams, the fire was extinguished before it did serious damage to our home. From what we understand, an unidentified individual started a fire in the dumpster of the business next to our driveway. The fire reached arborvitae trees that line our driveway for privacy and they went up instantly. After the fire was out and we were allowed to return to our home, we were able to assess the damage. All the arborvitae burned, and both our personal car and the truck we use for our business Pulp & Deckle had their sides closest to the fire melted.

So many things could have gone differently that night. All things considered, it was the best possible result of a terrifying incident. We are working with insurance and hope to have repairs started soon. If you would like to help in our recovery efforts please consider clicking on the SUPPORT button on the right side column of this website and make a contribution. It is difficult to find time to prioritize my art work and this project when I am focusing on the repairs and insurance conversations. Your financial support will give me a little breathing room. Thank you!!!

And in terms of wrapping up this project, I'm still looking for public planting venues for the portraits - do you know of any place that might be interested? Please send them my way at jenn@pulpanddeckle.com.  All the pieces have been photographed in high resolution (I'll be posting them here soon!) and I am ready to turn all these beautiful faces into fall vegetables and wildflowers. I'm hoping to have them planted in the next 3 weeks, fingers crossed! 


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Pop-Up Exhibition at Portland Art Museum - 8/3/2017

8/31/2017

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Pop-Up Portrait Session #10 - Portland Art Museum

8/31/2017

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Pop-Up Portrait Session #9.5 - Friends & Colleagues

8/3/2017

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Pop-up Portrait Session #9 - p:ear

8/1/2017

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Pop-Up Portrait Session #8 - Portland Farmers Market, Lents International

7/31/2017

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Pop-Up Portrait Session #7 - Portland Farmers Market, Kenton

7/26/2017

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Pop-Up Portrait Session #6 - Portland Farmers Market , Pioneer Courthouse Square

7/24/2017

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    Jenn Woodward

    Jennifer J. Woodward is an artist and small business owner living and working in Portland, OR. With a background focused on mixed media installation, drawing and papermaking, Jenn is currently exploring the relationship between local and sustainable materials and the themes of empathy, identity and mindfulness in her art practice. After attending the High School for Performing & Visual Arts in Houston, she received her BFA from Sarah Lawrence College, and her MFA from the joint degree program at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston & Tufts University in 2006. In the fall of 2012 Jenn and her husband Gary A. Hanson established Pulp & Deckle, a community papermaking studio that offers workshops, demos, custom orders and a papermaking artist residency program in partnership with the non-profit organization, c3:initiative. In addition to teaching at the studio Jenn is a guest instructor at locations throughout Oregon, including Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Portland Community College and WildCraft Studio School.
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