What do the Jean Bodies titles mean?

In this video I introduce my exhibition, Great Mysterious Heart, and talk about my Jean Bodies sculpture, Banding together in our humanity (image below).

Banding together in our humanity, 2021, donated and reclaimed cut denim jeans, 11x32x76in.

My soft sculpture series, Jean Bodies, points to a variety of ways that we come together in this life as people. One aspect of these sculptures is how their shapes reference forms found in nature, including the scale of the human body. The titles for these sculptures are culled from a combination of life experiences, and combined with intimate feelings as well as my reading.

The title for this piece, Banding together in our humanity, is inspired an interview by activist and UW runner, Rosalie Fish, who races with a red hand print on her face to raise awareness of violence against indigenous women. Learn more about Fish in this article.

For further information about my exhibition, Great Mysterious Heart, visit the exhibition catalogue; dive deeper into my Jean Bodies sculptures here; or join my Patreon for personal videos and in-depth writings and to support my art practice.

Megan Prince: Great Mysterious Heart

My exhibition, Great Mysterious Heart, featuring my Jean Bodies and Communities is open!

Great Mysterious Heart (installation picture), 2022

Great Mysterious Heart (installation picture), 2022

Megan Prince: Great Mysterious Heart, January 7 through February 12, 2022.

Artist Gallery Hours: From 12-2pm, Saturday, January 8 and Saturday, January 15. Stop by and say hi!

At the Kirkland Arts Center, Gallery hours are Wednesdays-Fridays 12pm to 6pm and Saturdays 12pm - 4pm

Artist Talk and Closing Reception: Friday, February 11, 2022 (tentative)

Great Mysterious Heart opens in one month!

Friends,

I’m so excited about my upcoming solo exhibition, Great Mysterious Heart, at the Kirkland Arts Center!

This exhibition will feature a selection of both my Jean Bodies sculptures and Communities works on paper. Below is my artist statement for the show:

Great Mysterious Heart

Relationships compel interdisciplinary abstract artist Megan Prince to create; relationships between people, to belongings, and to the earth. We are all tied together by relationship. Her work points to the similarities we all share and the intrinsic desire we have of being together.

Prince’s floor sculptures, Jean Bodies, are constructed from donated worn jeans, cut up and hand knit together. Jeans are the vehicle used to look at similarities and differences in communities. The process of donation creates the relational element, inviting and empowering people to participate in the conversation to examine their relationships to their community and belongings, as well as consider the environmental impact.

With the works on paper, Communities, Prince explores aloneness, solidarity and togetherness. In Communities, the artist plots soft graphite stars on the mixed media works behind organic black forms in oil pastel, signifying our immediate people groups, and semi-circles of blue gouache, representing our earth. Each element points to levels of togetherness; we are not only in community with each other, but connected across our world and in the larger universe too.

Community #18, 20” x 26.5”, oil pastel, gouache and graphite on Rives cotton paper, 2021

You’ve Been on My Mind, 10x38x100, donated and reclaimed cut denim jeans, 2021

(This image is from a recent field trip I took my Jean Bodies sculptures on to Alki Beach Park in West Seattle.)

My show opens one month from today, January 7th, 2022 and will be open through February 12. As I mentioned before we won’t be able to announce the closing reception until closer to the date so keep your eyes peeled for that, plus I’ll be announcing artist gallery hours soon.

Gallery Hours are Thursday & Friday 12 pm – 6 pm, Saturday 12 pm – 4 pm

Kirkland Arts Center is located at 620 Market St., Kirkland, WA 98033.

Great Mysterious Heart

I am excited to share the dates for my upcoming solo exhibition at the Kirkland Arts Center this January 2022:

The exhibition dates are January 7 through February 12, 2022.

THESE ARE MY PEOPLE, THESE ARE MY FRIENDS (exhibition view from Interdependence at KAC), 2020, donated and reclaimed cut denim jeans, 8x156x60

I look forward to seeing you there! - Megan

Wire Lace Relationship in HxWxD for the month of June 2021

My wall sculpture Wire Lace Relationship was selected to participate in SFVACC/SCORE’s juried exhibit: H x W x D – Celebrating 3D Art!

I created this piece as part of my Remnant Bodies, an ongoing series of small to medium sized hand-woven soft sculptures. Frequently made from leftover pieces of cast-off or remnant materials, the works range from lap to palm sized and are made from a variety of pliable materials such as cotton, plastic, vintage lace, and suede. The size of each piece is directly related to the quantity of material available.

The remnant material for this sculpture is from my great aunt, Ruth Janecke, an artist in her own right. When she passed away she left many many many materials for art and craft making. She not only painted with a variety of media on canvas and paper, but she made china dolls, their clothes and accessories. Her basement was her home studio and she used it well leaving it full of many amazing works of art and crafts when she passed away 30 years ago. My first oil paints and brushes came from her basement at the beginning of my own art journey.

Wire Lace Relationship, 2009, antique trim, 8x14x5

Wire Lace Relationship, 2009, antique trim, 8x14x5

Visit www.sfvacc.org any time between Tuesday June 1, 2021 and Wednesday, June 30, 2021 to view the exhibit. This will be exclusively an online exhibit.

AND Mark your calendar to join us for a Zoom Reception Saturday, June 5, 2021, 5:00-7:00 pm PST.
Reception Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89283105571

I look forward to seeing you there! Thank you for supporting my work and the arts.

The work on my website is for sale unless noted. I love working to figure out the right piece for you, whether its a sculpture, painting, installation or a personal commission. Drop me a note of inquiry or just say hi. I love hearing from you!

EVERY DAY LOOK AT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU WITH DIGNITY featured in Life on Venus Magazine!

Hi Friends,

My art practice, and specifically my Jean Bodies sculpture EVERY DAY LOOK AT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU WITH DIGNITY, will be featured in an upcoming print addition of Life on Venus magazine exploring Sustainable Fashion. Life on Venus is a conversational magazine who aims to influence positive change by having open conversations.

As many of you know, I have been working on a series of textile sculptures, titled Jean Bodies, made from reclaimed jeans. The reuse of used denim jeans in my project speaks directly to sustainable fashion. People all over the world wear jeans and the style of jeans shifts every season causing them to be cast aside for the new style generating huge amounts of waste.

EVERY DAY LOOK AT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU WITH DIGNITY, 2018, donated and cut denim jeans, 4x36x150

EVERY DAY LOOK AT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU WITH DIGNITY, 2018, donated and cut denim jeans, 4x36x150

Stay tuned for the print. In the meantime you can check out the magazine and what they are doing here. You can also check out their instagram and facebook. Enjoy!

Jean Bodies Update

Dear Friends,

I am accepting donations for my soft sculptures, Jean Bodies. Did you know it takes around 80 pairs of jeans for me to make each of these large sculptures? That’s a lot of jeans.

I have been collecting used denim in all colors in collaboration with individuals for the past several years. Before the pandemic this year, I had begun speeding up the collection process by purchasing jeans from stores like Goodwill but stopped due to the Covid-19 outbreak. I still don’t feel safe resuming my shopping and your collaboration in forwarding this project would be helpful. The jeans can be in any shape, including rips or stains. If you are unable to launder before you donate please let me know. No donation is too small.

I especially need black and gray tone jeans currently for two sculptures that are currently in process.

I keep a running list of my donors/collaborators for this project. I plan to share the donor list when I exhibit these pieces. I would love to add your name to the list, however if you prefer to not be publicly included let me know when you donate. This list of donors speaks to the community of people making these sculptures possible.

If you would like to donate jeans please email me through my contact page.

Thank you for supporting this project.

THESE ARE MY PEOPLE, THESE ARE MY FRIENDS (DETAIL), 2020, reclaimed and cut denim, 8x156x60

THESE ARE MY PEOPLE, THESE ARE MY FRIENDS (DETAIL), 2020, reclaimed and cut denim, 8x156x60