Cathy Jacobs and her artwork
Cathy Jacobs is a working artist who calls herself a weaver and a painter. Ms. Jacobs has been painting since her early childhood, but it was not until 2014 that she learned to weave while in graduate school. It immediately took hold of her imagination. Through weaving, she found that she could express the full spectrum of colors and moods in 3-dimensional space. Her current focus is in weaving panels of linen that, when layered together, create vibrating fields of color.
Ms. Jacobs grew up in Ferndale, Michigan, studied art at Wayne State University in the mid-nineties and graduated with an MFA from Eastern Michigan University in 2015. She has since had her work exhibited at SOFA Expo in Chicago, Architectural Digest Design Show in New York City, and the World of Threads Festival in Ontario, Canada. Her weavings are represented at Next Step Studio and Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan and at State of the Arts Fine Art Gallery in Sarasota, Florida. She lives with her husband, Leonardo, in Ann Arbor and has her studio at Ypsi Alloy Studios in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
What inspires you to create?
The sky, the air, ornate fabric, old photographs
Can you describe your greatest creative achievement?
I don’t believe that any one action or creation has been more important than any other. Continuing to create has been my greatest achievement.
What advice would you give to the next generation of creative people?
No one else knows what you are capable of. People along the way may tell you no or that you can’t. If you know in your heart that you can, do it anyway.
What one word would you use to describe yourself or the work you do? Sparkly
To see more of Cathy’s artwork visit www.cathyjacobs.com
is a series of profiles of creative people throughout the world that I have either shared the stage with or have observed their talents from a far. The questions are my own and their answers are unaltered.
WSU is my alma mater and it was an honor to be part of this exhibition as a past Kresge fellow. Several artists, writers and musicians were profiled at the Will Leather store which is located in Midtown Detroit. This exhibition features examples from our artwork and will be on display through the end of November.
A special thanks to Founder/CEO Will Adler, Will Leather who opened his marvelous store to the arts for this reception. Located in the heart of Midtown Detroit you need to visit this iconic store if you pay our city a visit. Some of the rarest and finest leather goods in the country can be purchased there.
As we get older, the more we reflect on our past. Depending on where our minds are on a particular day, this could be a good memory or a bad one.
Probably my fondest memory of those Atlantic City weeks was the year that Deegeen Sosy put me on stage with a group of young Armenian musicians to play tambourine (that she provided) for one of the afternoon jam sessions in the hotel lobby. My mother and Sosy were friends and I am sure sometime throughout the week it was discussed to put me in a coat and tie and stand in the back with the other musicians and play alongside them. I was told to be professional and not joke or fool around on stage. Possibly my mother, knowing what a ham I could be on any stage, felt this would be a wonderful experience for me — she was right, I immediately fell in love with the music. This was an experience I will never forget. I was so proud to be with these musicians and I was encourage by both my mother and Deegeen Sosy. By the way – those musicians I stood with were the second-generation Vosbikians!
This is what Deegeen Sosy did – she preserved and passed along the Armenian cultural traditions. It wasn’t about who had or didn’t have talent to her – it was more important that she exposed the younger generations to our rich heritage. She sang, she danced, she wrote and read poetry, she played music. She passed on the traditions to her children and Armenian children around the country. I am forever thankful she did this for me. I would go on to love our music and its traditions and the rest as they say – is history.
For me, I wouldn’t be able to pin-point the exact day or form in which I discovered art, but I do know I was a child. It involved a multitude of forms of art and culture and I explored many different types growing up. As a musician people ask “how”, “when” “where” as it pertains to ones learning. The answer for me is not as simple. Sure, I can tell you that I listened and watched musicians and they were inspirations to me wanting to play music, but I think the interest in music stemmed from other cultural/art forms.
HYE Times 