JEN SWEARINGTON
EDUCATION
2000 MFA in Fibers, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA, GPA 4.0
1997 BFA in Sculpture, minor in Art History, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, GPA 3.9
PROFESSIONAL & ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
2003-present Founder/Designer/Creative Director, Jennythreads Inc., Asheville, NC
2016 Visiting Lecturer, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY
Workshop Instructor, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2015-present Standards Committee member, Southern Highland Craft Guild, Asheville, NC
2015 Visiting Lecturer & Workshop Instructor, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
2011-2014 Fair Committee Member & Fair Raffle Coordinator, Southern Highland Craft Guild, Asheville, NC
2014 Juror, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA.
Workshop Instructor, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
2013 Author and Illustrator, Printing on Fabric: Techniques with Screens, Stencils, Inks, & Dyes, Lark Books
2012 Workshop Instructor, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2010 Commissioned Artist, Glen Rock Depot Wall of Gratitude, Asheville, NC
2009 Visiting Lecturer & Workshop Instructor, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Visiting Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC
Workshop Instructor, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
Workshop Instructor, Cloth Fiber Workshop, Asheville, NC
Workshop Instructor, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Commissioned Artist, 30 Objects Sculpture Installation, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA
Freelance Project Designer, Lark Books, Asheville, NC
2008 Adjunct Professor, Haywood Community College, Clyde, NC
Winter Printmaking Resident, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
Bernina National Artisan, Bernina USA, Aurora, IL
Workshop Instructor, Sawtooth Center for Visual Art, Winston-Salem, NC
2006-2007 Adjunct Professor, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
2005-2007 Adjunct Professor, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC
2007 Guest Curator, Fiber Day Fashion Show, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC
Assistant/ Co-Instructor, Workshop (Wendy Huhn), Surface Design Conference, Kansas City, MO
2004-2006 Freelance Project Designer, Lark Books, Asheville, NC
2004 Visiting Lecturer, Workshop (Carmen Grier), Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
Visiting Artist & Workshop Instructor, St Andrews Sewanee School, Sewanee, TN
2002-2004 Artist in Residence Instructor, Arts Place, Inc. Portland, IN
2003 Visiting Artist, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN
Artist in Residence Instructor, Carolina Day School, Asheville, NC
2001-2003 Workshop Instructor, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2001-2002 Artist in Residence, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2000 Studio Assistant, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
1999 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA
1996 Teaching Intern, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
AWARDS
2017 Honorable Mention, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Festival, Charleston, SC
2016 First Place in Wearable Fiber, Artigras, Jupiter, FL
Community Choice Award, West Asheville Holiday Window Contest
2015 First Place in Wearable Fiber, Artigras, Jupiter, FL
Best Use of Natural Materials, West Asheville Holiday Window Contest
2014 First Place in Wearable Fiber, Artigras, Jupiter, FL
Third Place, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Fair, Charleston, SC
Best Use of Craft Materials, West Asheville Holiday Window Contest
2013 Sand Dollar Award, Boardwalk Art Show, Virginia Beach, VA
Merit Award, Fourth Street Art Festival, Bloomington, IN
2012 Honorable Mention, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Festival, Charleston, SC
2011 Best of Show, Weaverville Art in Autumn, Weaverville, NC
First Place in Fiber/Leather, Summerfair, Cincinnati, OH
2010 Best in Fiber, Art Awards Show, Virginia Beach, VA
2009 Award of Excellence, Quilt National 2009, Athens, OH
Best in Fiber, Through the Looking Glass Exhibition, The Villager, Auburn, AL
2008 Best of Show, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Fair, Charleston, SC
Slide Jurors’ Award, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Fair, Charleston, SC
Purchase Award, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Fair, Charleston, SC
Second Place, St. Stephens Art Fair, Coconut Grove, FL
2007 Juror’s Choice Award, Historic West End Arts Fest, Winston-Salem, NC
2006 First Place Award, Cherokee Triangle Art Fair, Louisville, KY
Honorable Mention, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Festival, Charleston, SC
2005 Emerging Artist Merit Award, Buyer's Market of American Craft, Philadelphia, PA
Best of Show, Haywood County International Festival Day Art & Craft Fair, Waynesville, NC
Friends of Arrowmont Scholarship, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts
Educational Scholarship, Southern Highland Craft Guild
2004 First Place for Fine Craft, Art on Main, Hendersonville, NC
Honorable Mention, Piccolo Spoleto Craft Festival, Charleston, SC
PUBLICATIONS
2016 "My Economy" Marketplace Money, National Public Radio
2013 Author and Illustrator, Printing on Fabric: Techniques with Screens, Stencils, Inks, & Dyes
2012 “20 Years of the Artists-in-Residence Program,” Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (exhibition catalog)
"Dazzling Holiday Dresses" by Joanne O'Sullivan, Asheville Scene, Nov 16
"Craft Fair as Family Reunion" by Carol Motsinger, Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct 15
"Girls of Summer" by Jess McCuan, Verve Magazine, June
2011 Cover Artist & “Reluctant Fashionistas”, Mountain Xpress May 10
2010 "Artist Profile: Jen Swearington" Niche, Spring
"Designer Showcase: Jen Swearington" Belle Armoire Magazine, Spring
Quilt National 2009: The Best of Contemporary Quilts, Lark Books
2008 “Jen Swearington: Pencilling a World” by Connie Bostic, Surface Design Journal, Fall
“Life Style: Finishing Touches” WNC: Mountain Living in Western North Carolina, July
“Portfolio: Jen Swearington” Asheville Citizen-Times
2007 “Fiber designer stretches beyond fine art” by Diane Daniel, The News & Observer
“36 Hours in Savannah” The New York Times
Featured Artist, The Laurel of Asheville Magazine
2006 “Fiber Optic: Textile in Contemporary Art” (exhibition catalog)
Needle Culture: Contemporary Mixed Media Textiles (exhibition catalog)
The Altered Object by Terry Taylor (contributor)
Creative Stitching on Paper by Joanne O’Sullivan (contributor)
Exquisite Embellishments for Your Clothes by Valerie Shrader (contributor)
2005 Quilt National 2005: The Best of Contemporary Quilts, Lark Books
“Young Guns: Emerging Artists” Blue Mountain Living
“Walk for the Arts (Gallery Review)” Asheville Citizen Times
2004 Fiberarts Design Book Seven, Lark Books
Altered Art by Terry Taylor (contributor)
"Layers in Cloth, Layers in Thought." Asheville Citizen-Times
2003 Cover Artist & "Thoughts from the Next Generation." Fiberarts Magazine
“Exposures,” Surface Design Journal
Quilt National 2003: The Best of Contemporary Quilts, Lark Books
"Creating Tomorrow's Treasures" Mountain Xpress
2001 “The Art of Crafts” Athens Banner-Herald
1999 "Playing the Field" Mountain Xpress
"The Jen Swearington Show at Blue Sky" Curdle Online Reviews
1998 "Playing with a Full Deck" Allison Hersh, Savannah Morning News
"Swearington Stacks the Deck with Collages" Zoe Randall, Connect Savannah
"52-Card Pick-up" Christina Taylor, Georgia Guardian
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
2016 Mountain Bizworks ScaleUp Cohort 4
2013-present West Asheville Business Association
2007-present Piedmont Craftsmen, Fiber
2005-2016 Carolina Designer Craftsmen, Fiber & Mixed Media
2003-present Southern Highland Craft Guild, Fiber & Mixed Media, Finance Committee & Standards Committee
2004-2010 LINT (Ladies in New Textiles)
2003-2009 Surface Design Association
2003-2008 River District Artists
SOLO & TWO-ARTIST EXHIBITIONS
2011 Wearable Art: Jen Swearington & Deb Karash, River Gallery, Chattanooga, TN
2009 True Lineage: Jen Swearington & Jennifer Mecca, Lark & Key Gallery, Charlotte, NC
2007 Michael Kline & Jen Swearington, Focus Gallery, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC
2006 Roundtrips from the Nest, Blowers Gallery, University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC
Recent Works, Mooresville Public Library, Mooresville, NC
2005 Jen Swearington & Julia Masaoka, Asheville Area Art Council Front Gallery, Asheville, NC
Menagerie, Nested, Carrboro, NC
2004 Desmond Suarez & Jen Swearington, Guild Crafts Feature Gallery, Asheville, NC
Stranger than Fiction, St. Andrew School Sewanee Gallery, Sewanee, TN
2003 Recent Histories, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN
Jen Swearington, The New French Bar, Asheville, NC
2002 Invitational (with Faryn Davis & Carmen Grier), Milton Rhodes Gallery, Sawtooth Center for Visual Art, Winston-Salem, NC
2001 Recent Works, Ocean Gallery, Asheville, NC
Jen Swearington and DeAnna Rigter, Arts Council Boardroom, Winston-Salem, NC
Violent Domestics, The Grit, Athens, GA
2000 Stitches for Bee Stings, MFA Exhibition, Bergen Gallery, Savannah College of Art & Design, GA
1999 PLINK-O! The Gallery Espresso, Savannah, GA
1997 Indy, BFA Exhibition, Pratt Studios Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017 Wearable Art and Fashion Show, Cleveland County Arts Council, Shelby, NC
2016 Wearable Art, River Gallery, Chattanooga, TN
2013 Flourish, Lark and Key Gallery, Charlotte, NC
2012 Re + Constructed, The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
Home Work: Domestic Narratives in Contemporary Art, Green Hill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC
At 20: Arrowmont Artists in Residents Program Exhibition, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Costume Drama: A Fashion Show, Asheville Community Theater, Asheville, NC
2011 Quilt National 2009, Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, MN
It's All in the Pattern, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
National Teapot Exhibition VIII, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC
Presents of Art, Upstairs Artspace, Tryon, NC
2010 Quilt National 2009, Touring Exhibition:
National Quilt Museum, Padukah, KY
Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, MN
Threads, Echo Gallery, Biltmore Park, NC
Intimate Apparel, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA
HandMade: The Western North Carolina Craft, Architecture & Design Expo, Asheville, NC
4th Art in Bloom, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, Black Mountain, NC
New Traditions: Wearable Art, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC
2009 Quilt National 2009, Touring Exhibition:
Dairy Barn Art Center, Athens, OH
The Foundry Art Center, St Charles, MO
Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH
Intimate Apparel, Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN
Revisit, Lark & Key Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Inspired Reuse, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
Material Messages, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
Through the Looking Glass, The Villager, Auburn, AL
New Works by LINT, Grovewood Gallery, Asheville, NC
2008 Depth & Breadth: Six Quiltmakers in the 21st Century, Butler Institute of Art, Warren, OH
Fiber Collective, State Street Gallery, Madison, WI
Figuratively Speaking, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
LINT Interprets Transparency, Black Mountain Arts Center, Black Mountain, NC
Masterworks, Carolina Designer Craftsmen Show, Raleigh, NC
National Teapot Exhibition, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC
Silver Lining Show, The Villager, Auburn, AL
45 Years of Inspired Design, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC & Sparta Teapot Museum, Sparta, NC
2007 Masterworks, Carolina Designer Craftsmen Show, Raleigh, NC
Vintage-Inspired Quilts, Transylvania Arts Council, Brevard, NC
Intimate Apparel, Pi Gallery, Kansas City, MO
New Members Exhibition, Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, NC
Quilt National 2005 (Touring 2005-2007)
2006 Bookopolis, Bookworks Studio, Asheville, NC
Fiber Day Fashion Show, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC
Fiber Optics: Textiles in Contemporary Art, William King Regional Art Museum, Abingdon, VA
Focus on Fiber, Promenade Gallery, Berea, KY
Needle Culture: Contemporary Mixed Media Textiles, Coconino Center for Art, Flagstaff, AZ
Quilt National 2005, Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center, Athens OH (touring 2005-2007)
2006 LINT presents Light, Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, NC & Asheville Area Arts Council, Asheville, NC
Winter Show 2007, Green Hill Center for the Arts, Greensboro, NC
Small Works, ShopSCAD, Atlanta, GA
2005 Quilt National 2005, Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center, Athens, OH (touring 2005-2007)
Form, Not Function: Quilt Art at the Carnegie, Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany, IN
Carolina Designer Craftsmen: Member Works, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC
Makers & Mentors, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC
2004 Variations on a Theme: Art inspired by Music, Spiers Gallery, Brevard College, Brevard, NC
Digital Origins: Emerging Textile Artists, Eyedrum, Atlanta, GA
Considering Quilts, Atlantic Center for the Arts at Harris House, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Fiber & Beyond, Dirt & Sky People Gallery, Asheville, NC
What's New? GC Lucas Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
2003 Quilt National 2003, Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center, Athens, OH (touring 2003-2005)
Setting the Standards: New Members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Asheville, NC
Art Quilts: Vantage Point: South, Page-Walker Art & History Center, Cary, NC
Paper, Inc. Grovewood Gallery, Asheville, NC
2003 La Petite X, Alder Art Gallery, Coburn, OR
Gallery Gift Show, Hugh N. Ronald Gallery, Arts Place, Portland, IN
2002 Woven Cognition, Bruce Gallery, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA
Fiber Arts 2002, Gallery 510 Artists Guild, Ltd. Decatur, IL
Collecting: Mixed Media, Bennett Galleries & Company, Knoxville, TN
Artists-in-Residence, Atrium Gallery, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2001 Contemporary Crafts Exhibition, Emerge Gallery, Greeneville, NC
Annual Fibers Exhibition, American Crafts Gallery, Cleveland, OH
Small Things Considered, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
A Woman's View, Maurice M. Pine Library, Fairlawn, NJ
Exponent: Women, Art, Power, Clayton Street Gallery, Athens, GA
2000 Spiritual Places, IUPUI Cultural Art Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
Lots of Little Art, Artlink Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN
Big Pictures, Bergen Galleries, Savannah, GA
1999 Selected Artists, The Gallery Espresso, Savannah, GA
18th Annual Small Works, Exhibit A Gallery, Savannah, GA
A Common Thread, Rapid Transit Gallery, Savannah, GA
1998 17th Annual Small Works, Exhibit A Gallery, Savannah, GA
Open House, Residential Space, Savannah, GA
1997 17th Annual Loft Artists Association Open Studios, Stamford, CT
Juried Senior Fine Arts Exhibition, Schafler Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Senior Sculpture Show, Schafler Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
1996 Pratt in Venice Student Exhibition, East Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
SELECTED FINE ART FAIRS
2012-2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA
Boardwalk Art Fair, Virginia Beach, VA
4TH Street Art Fair, Bloomington, IN
2004-2014 Art in the Park, Blowing Rock, NC
Broad Ripple Art Fair, Indianapolis, IN
Carolina Designer Craftsmen Fair, Raleigh, NC
Cherokee Triangle Art Fair, Louisville, KY
Piccolo Spoleto Craft Fair, Charleston, SC
2003-2016 Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, Asheville, NC
Piedmont Craftsmen Fair, Winston-Salem, NC
2011 American Craft Council Show, Baltimore, MD
Summerfair, Cincinnati, OH
2010 Beckman's Handcrafted Market at the Chicago Gift Show, Chicago, IL
Buyers Market of American Craft, Philadelphia, PA
One of a Kind Show and Sale, Chicago, IL
TACA Fall Fair, Nashville, TN
2008 American Craft Council Shows, Atlanta, GA & Sarasota, FL
Craft Boston, Boston, MA
St. Stephens Art Fair, Coconut Grove, FL