In this interview, I speak with contemporary fiber artist Jen Morgan, whose richly textured work celebrates the people, culture, music, and distinctive sense of place that define New Orleans and beyond. Jen’s journey into fibre art began with a background in graphic design and a simple felting workshop that opened up a completely new creative world for her. Today, she works almost entirely with natural fibers, combining wet felting, Nuno felting, and needle felting to create works that, at first glance, can look like paintings. Each piece begins with a hand-felted foundation of natural fibers and silk before thousands of additional fibers are meticulously needle felted into place. Embroidery, hand-spun art yarns, feathers, beads, and found objects can then become part of the work, adding even more depth, texture and detail. Jen explains her process and how she came to discover the possibilities of working with fiber, as well as what inspired her to begin creating portraits. Her love of colour is impossible to miss. Her work is vibrant, expressive and full of life, and she uses colour not simply to create beautiful images, but to tell stories. One of the subjects that has particularly captured Jen’s imagination is the Black Masking Indians of New Orleans. This centuries-old cultural tradition, rooted in the city's African American history and shaped by connections between Black communities and Native American peoples, is expressed through elaborate handmade suits, music, movement and community. The tradition has its roots in the 19th century and has become an important part of New Orleans' cultural identity. Jen's portraits of the Black Masking Indians were another reminder to me of why I believe art matters so much. Through her work, I discovered a part of New Orleans and its history that I might otherwise never have encountered. What I see is not simply a beautiful portrait. There is a story, a culture and a history behind it. This is one of the things I love about art. It opens up worlds for us. It makes us curious. It allows us to discover beauty in places, people and stories where we may never have thought to look. Jen's work also challenges our ideas about what fiber can be. Something that appears to be painted may, on closer inspection, reveal itself to be thousands of tiny pieces of fiber, patiently and lovingly placed by hand. Thank you, Jen, for sharing your story with me and for bringing so much colour, texture and beauty into our world through your art. Every artist has a story worth hearing. https://www.jenmorgancreativearts.com/about-me If you've enjoyed The Artist's Voice, you're invited to support the project through https://buymeacoffee.com/petrasittig Every coffee helps keep meaningful conversations with artists brewing. Thanks for listening, watching, and cheering on the arts! The Inspiration by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ #artistinterviews #feltart #portraits #petrasittigtheartistsvoice
