By Quinn Riley
Being able to create from home and spend time with her two children, Evelyn and William, is the perfect life for Jes Zange, a fiber artist based in Milwaukee, WI. After pursuing an undergraduate degree in fine arts, Jes explored a number of creative endeavors—painting, event planning, and even designing installations for Anthropologie. It was not until her first child was born in 2016 that she discovered her love for fiber art. Bothered by the idea that she was exposing her newborn to toxic paints, Jes asked the question, “what if I could paint with yarn?” Out of this curiosity, her original textile art was born, consisting of various techniques, vibrant colors, and a depth of textures.
Balancing work and family life has developed naturally for Jes. “I try to set myself up for success,” she says, explaining her daily expectations around work and caring for her family. Jes found that painting required more of her time away from the family, as the art form generally means working in longer sessions. This is why she loves fiber—its clean, kid-friendly, and it travels nicely.
Jes is able to squeeze in some solo project time while her kids nap, but she also enjoys including them in her creative process. She describes her 4-year-old Evelyn as her “mini me… she calls herself an artist and that is something I am extremely proud of.” Jes has been inspired by her daughter’s drawings with bright colors and they encourage her to experiment with vibrant hues in calming nature scenes. Her “It’s Okay to Have Favorites” piece was modeled after one of Evelyn’s creations. Jes’ 2-year-old son, William, enjoys watching his mother work with yarn, but he prefers music for his creative passion: “he loves being able to find the rhythm in a song and he adores our piano.”
Evelyn doesn’t mind sharing her opinion and giving her mother open critiques. In one of Jes’ recent pieces, she incorporated a beautiful lavender color for the water in the landscape. At first very suspicious of an abstract color being used in a nature scene, it took the addition of flowers and other vegetation for Evelyn to see Jes’ vision. She eventually decided that she loved the purple tones in her mother’s piece and it was soon named “Evelyn Decided She’s Okay with Purple.” Jes’ husband participates in her creative process by designing the frames for her pieces: “he loves me very much and he does this for me and I’m so appreciative.” Jes exposes her husband to different forms of art, as they experiment together and try new techniques for the base structure of her designs.
While she continues to find inspiration at home, Jes often takes on commissioned projects from beloved scenes all over the United States. “The mountains are beautiful, but I am most inspired by colors that come alive with water,” Jes explains, as she talks about some of her favorite projects. Her latest commissioned piece, a large Big Sur rendition, took a vast amount of experimentation—learning how to represent water against rocks, incorporating vegetation, and developing contrast between the horizon and the focus of the landscape—all while maintaining the vision of the client’s original photograph. Jes typically starts with larger swatches of yarn and then begins layering with unique textures and shapes. She always sends clients updates as she works, making sure that she is creating a special piece for each individual.
Jes loves knowing that she is using natural, organic materials in her creations. She likes to purchase locally from Fiberwood Studio, a shop with great variety and an audience of weavers, fiber artists, and creatives from all over the state. Jes will occasionally visit second-hand stores and find blankets, belts, and ropes that she uses to add texture to her pieces. She attended a sheep and wool festival a few years ago, and fell in love with the process of natural fiber production. Her dream is to one day have a farm with sheep and chickens… “if there is one thing that quarantine has taught us, it’s how little we need to survive.” Jes’ love for natural approaches translates into her family life as well. Her husband built her a structure for a garden and she has enjoyed harvesting her own food sources for family meals. Cooking is a fun family activity and everyone is involved in the process. Jes cooks with lots of vegetables, incorporating findings from her garden into rice and pasta dishes. She has recently been baking with zucchini, a favorite amongst Evelyn and William.
Jes gives her mother praise for her exposure to art as a child. Growing up in a small town, art classes were seldom to none. Jes’ mother was willing to drive her to nearby towns to take art classes, leading Jes to explore calligraphy, cartooning, pottery, paper mache, and weaving at a young age. Jes became known as “the artist” in her small school and felt special as a creative individual. Jes was delighted to attend a college full of creators, but her art with fiber brings back that special feeling of adding to her environment in a new way: “it does make me feel good that I’m putting something out there that I love and is not being replicated at the moment… it feels unique.” Jes credits the cultivation of her art form to all of the artists that inspire her. One of her favorite fiber artists to follow, Tammy Kanat, creates large, woven displays. Another artist, Karin Olah, incorporates textiles and other fabrics into her paintings inspired by the Southern coast: “she’ll melt your heart with the colors that she uses.” Given her history with painting, Jes continues to be inspired by Poppy Dodge’s bright colors and abstract shapes. As for the classics, Jes has always been a huge fan of Monet, Lucian Freud, and Marlene Dumas.
Sharing her work through teaching is something that Jes envisions for the future. She is happy that she can contribute to the evolving world of fiber art with her own unique approach to working with texture. Her gentle spirit and caring nature shines through each of her pieces—if you would like to commission a piece or explore her available work, check out Jes’ website and instagram. We hope that you fall in love with her work just as much as we did!
