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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 16, 2005 Muralist turns to mosaic art By Cindy Blankenship For the Daily Tidings Artist Sketch Name : Jennifer Bakker Hails From : Chicago. Moved to Talent five years ago. Age : 33. Training : Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, University of Missouri. Claim to Fame : Mosaic murals at the Ashland Co-op. Inspiration : “Great paintings! And nature.” While many admire the mosaic murals at the Food Co-op, not so many know that these were created by someone who taught herself mosaic while volunteering at an orphanage in Kenya. Jennifer Bakker, who had focused on drawing and painting while earning her fine arts degree from the University of Missouri, says, “I did love to draw and paint, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with myself. I was very drawn to Africa. It’s very beautiful, and I wanted to see the people there and villages, the simple lifestyles …” A search on the Internet found a call for volunteers from Nyumbani www.nyumbani.org an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya for kids who had tested HIV positive. In Kenya, Bakker traveled around for a while and hiked Mt. Kenya before settling in as a resident volunteer at the orphanage, which allowed to be in one place and get to know the people better. “I met wonderful children and saw firsthand the beautiful and loving place they can be in while dealing with HIV positive,” Bakker said. Bakker stayed on for one year, helping in various ways, from peeling potatoes to playing with the kids. And, because Nyumbani liked to draw on the volunteers’ talents, her artistic talent was called upon. “I was going to paint a mural, but circumstances led me to meet an Englishman, an ex patriot, who had a pottery studio nearby,” she says, explaining that here she conceived the idea of creating a mosaic and making her own tiles. Jennifer Bakker works on a mosaic in her studio. Submitted photo Since her only pottery experience was making ashtrays in Montessori school, Bakker was a little surprised at her vision. Not having had any previous knowledge of creating a mosaic, let alone her own tiles, she created a technique that she later found out other mosaic artists who create their tiles often use. Bakker rolled out the clay with a slab roller, and then with an exacto knife cut this into one-inch square. Once it was baked and glazed, she trimmed the pieces with nippers. She still uses this technique. “After completing the mural for Nyumbani, I quickly got another commission and at the same time meant a wonderful guy from Holland and married him,” Bakker says. Ivo, also a volunteer in Kenya, and Jennifer worked together, she making the tiles and creating the mosaic on a substraight, he installing the mosaics. They now run Manda Mosaic out of their Talent home where Jennifer has a kiln and studio. She continues to evolve her art, adding textures such as shells, glass and beads. Jennifer’s most well-known mosaics were installed at the Ashland Food Co-op in 2001. One, a rendition of the store’s logo, features the Ashland hills and is installed on the wall above the dining area near the juice bar. The other is installed in the floor at the exit door and features a peace dove ascending into the future. In 2004 she worked with local talent Sharon D’vora and 400 children at Helman Elementary in creating a mosaic for their school. Her work is also installed at Tark’s Market in Talent, and she looks forward to creating more public art. She enjoys creating interior installations for homes, and her and Ivo’s work graces countertops, fireplace heaths, backsplashes and floors. “I also really love to draw and paint,” she adds. “I sort of approach my mosaics as if they are paintings.” The mother of a three-year-old daughter, Ella Bakker, Jennifer works in Ashland part time to supplement her artistic career, waiting tables at the Standing Stone Brewing Co. on Oak Street Sunday and Wednesday nights. Her work is currently on display at the Paschal Winery through July 2 and will be exhibited at Pangea Grills and Wraps in Ashland this August. She can be reached at [email protected] or 535-2650. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams