By Catherine West
With an art career that all started at age four with a box of crayons and a coloring book, Baylor alumna Jennifer Moreman ‘04 currently has art pieces housed all over the world. Raised in Dallas, Moreman found her calling in middle school. After graduating from Trinity Christian Academy, she followed in her older siblings’ footsteps and headed to Baylor.
Graduating in 2004 with her BFA in studio art, Moreman’s hours spent in the studio and unique experiences molded her into the artist she is today. “On September 11, 2001 I had my painting class at 10:00 a.m., and the towers went down right before class started. I ruined my painting that day, and many other following that semester,” Moreman said. She knows firsthand that experiences like these can result in success or artistic nightmares. This incident eventually led her switch her focus from painting to printmaking, a style that greatly influences her unique style.
Moreman’s fiber art class, taught by Dr. Mary Ruth Smith, allowed her to experiment by painting fabric with dye. “She was one of those students you remember,” Smith said. “She was creative, innovative, and inventive in the way she approached assignments.” Smith even remembers when she discovered her technique. “Jennifer allowed the watery paint to drip and run across the fabric thus achieving effects that had not been done by any other student,” Smith said. This process was the beginning of the watery drip effect that has developed into her signature style.
Moreman’s style also includes animals as a recurring subject matter. She says her work is based in God’s creation, and she believes her faith has played an important role in her art. “My enthusiasm and joy as an artist comes from the ability to remind people that life is beautiful,” Moreman said. Her love for painting animals, longhorns in particular, also stems from her husband, who is one of her biggest supporters. She met Greg, a University of Texas graduate, while he was attending Baylor Law.
Currently living in Tyler, Moreman is a prime example of the effects that social media and online marketing can have on a career. “The Internet has been a huge blessing on me,” Moreman said. When Moreman was ready to sell her artwork, she began by placing her artwork on Etsy.com, a website that allows customers to purchase items from individual vendors. It was quickly “pinned” to Pinterest by someone from HGTV, which allowed One King’s Lane, a home décor website, to find her. From there, her work went viral. She jokes, “I was doing well up until then, but that was a very good day!”
Due to the global online market, Moreman has sold pieces to customers in Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Canada. She hopes to one day track her artwork with a large travel map.
Moreman believes that what she learned as a student at Baylor continues to benefit her as an artist. Many Baylor alumni have also benefitted her career by becoming customers. Moreman plans to continue her recent online success, which allows her to stay at home more with her eleven-month old. As for current studio art students, she advises just to stick with it and take advantage of websites such as Pinterest and Etsy.
For more information about upcoming shows or to view more work by Jennifer Moreman, visit Moreman’s website, Etsy page, Pinterest page, or find her work on One Kings Lane.
