I am drawn to the wild edges of things. Often this is the Pacific coast, where water and land meet. I explore this landscape, looking for markers of change and time. This change can be observed in the rhythm of the tides, but also in unpredictable shifts of land and climate.

In my art practice, I take walks looking to collaborate with natural landforms. Working on-site, I create temporary drawings and installations and document them with photography.

While my collaboration with these natural forms is tangible, it is also a gesture, a repeated ritual, that reflects my search for connection to a place. In working in the external landscape, I am aware of the internal experience of wonder and awe. Creation is an act of presence, responding to ephemeral elements of light, shadow, and land in a particular moment.

These drawings and installations are more than rocks, shadows and lines. They are symbols that point to deep geologic time, mountain tops, ocean floors, erosion, transformation, the climate, our place on earth, and in orbit with our closest star. In the midst of what is changing, we are aware of our human impact, what grounds us, and moves us.

Another aspect of my creative life is found indoors, in the classroom. I find much joy in exploring with students and colleagues ways to make thinking visible through project based learning. My curriculum is constantly evolving to present questions relevant to the lives of my students. My teaching practice and art practice have a symbiotic relationship, where place and identity are frequent themes of inquiry. I believe that art education can cultivate critical thinking, amplify student voices, and beautify our community. I am still learning, and challenged to think more critically by the pandemic, racism, and the environmental crisis. I humbly acknowledge there is privilege in creating art. I am still navigating this question in life: how do we create a more humane dwelling place?

Jennifer Klecker was born in Owatonna, MN and ventured to Milwaukee, WI where she received her B.A. in Art Education from Cardinal Stritch University. She worked with high school students in social justice and art education for nine years before moving to the Bay Area In 2013. In 2015, she graduated with an MFA at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where she continues to work in public education. She considers herself a migratory being, in love with the culture of the city, but at at home in the 'wilderness.' Much of her inspiration comes from time spent backpacking off the grid, walking in the city, leading pilgrimages, and creating art with students in the classroom.

jennifer.klecker@gmail.com

Residency with Problem Library

Work at Tint Gallery in San Francisco

Instagram: Jennifer Klecker

Instagram: Independence Art Room