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During the last decade, feltmaking has taken on a new lease of life all over the world. Among those using it as an art medium, Jenny Cowern is outstanding. Not only is her technique excellent, refined and sensitive, but her pictures are restrained in colour, painterly in approach and subtle in quality. There is nothing brash in her use of colour and the delicate handling of the materials is masterly.
As she has progressed she has developed versatility in her subject matter, never however straying far from the basic inspiration she finds in nature. As a painter of some stature, she is always faithful to her academic background but is never afraid of tackling new challenges. Her recent sky and copper beech tree work in twelve sections is an example of her skill and artistry.
Much of her success results from her meticulous attention to the detail in preparing, dyeing and handling of the wool she uses. Such details, however, cannot produce works of art on their own, and it is because of Jenny’s integrity as an artist that her work excels. When seen among the work of her contemporaries, her work has an enduring quality which accounts for the number of pieces which have been acquired by connoisseurs, art galleries and museums throughout the country. There is poetry in her work which delights the eye and a calming quality which never ceases to give pleasure and is a sure test of true art.
Mary Burkett 1988
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