Episode No. 2 of the KC Art Pie podcast features visual artist Janet Kuemmerlein discussing her textile murals, the women of jazz, and how naiveté is not always a bad thing.

For this episode, I sat down with Janet Kuemmerlein in her large home studio to talk about her work and career which has spanned over 50 years. We talked about the bravery or naivete it takes to be an artist and the early days of her career in the 60s. While her textile practice is often a solitary affair, she has also painted portraits of other artists, most significantly a number of Kansas City women jazz vocalists, and she shares her experience of working with and learning from women coming from a different artistic medium.

Kuemmerlein is a pioneer in the contemporary fiber art movement. She was born in Detroit, Michigan. Janet studied painting at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, and sculpture and metalsmithing at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Her work has been placed in institutions such the Smithsonian Museum of Fine Artm  the Chicago Institute of Art, the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Art and Design,  among many others. Her work has been in exhibited around the word in England, France, Germany and Switzerland.

http://www.janetkuemmerlein.com

Janet Kuemmerlein in her studio

Odyssey, textile installation, 5 x 30', manila rope, wool, nylon, silk, cotton, & dacron, 1976, Richmond, CA 

Arctic Echoes, textile installation, 50', Anchorage, AK

The Wild Women of Kansas City by Janet Kuemmerlein,
The American Jazz Museum

Portrait of Deborah Brown by Janet Kuemmerlein,
The American Jazz Museum

Calla Lily by Janet Kuemmerlein

Tempest by Janet Kuemmerlein, textile vessel