Take the mystery out of art history
 
Kern - "Just Before" Simplified illustrative laundry hanging from two trees at dusk painted on white earthenware
 
 

Terri Kern • Ohio: 1964-

Just Before • White Earthenware 8” x 8” x 1/4”

She started out to be the next Indiana Jones and instead became the first Terri Kern. The kid who loved to scramble through the nearby brickyards picking up old glass bottles with their fading labels, now makes her own remnants of life. Her path shifted around the time she realized art was something she could do better than the Valedictorian sister who dazzled teachers just before Terri showed up. Art helped her break the pattern. 

She eventually reached the Master’s program at Ohio University and still remembers the anxiety of her first graduate level classes and her graduate instructor’s probing question: “What are you doing?” She thought she was making art and didn’t know how to answer. For the first time in her art career she was failing and as her tears hit the floor they showed the way down. The instructor showed her another path forward, “Make art about what you know.” 

Kern knew herself and, partially inspired by renowned artist Frida Kahlo, she began creating remnants of her life, the way ancient tribes left remnants of their civilizations for future archaeologists to find. At long last, Terri learned to tell stories with her art, the way the old Archaeologist had spun tales from ancient fossils for a rapt audience of Junior Archaeologists so many years before.

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INTERESTING STORIES FROM OUR SPONSORS

 
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Her stories were told on earthenware slabs and sculptural shapes. She used symbols just like ancient potters. Laundry became a recurring theme, a remnant of her grandmother’s life when three generations of strong women -- grandmother, mother and daughters -- shared a Cincinnati home. “There is a feeling of comfort when I remember her.” These are calming thoughts in the turbulent moments just before heading off on a new adventure, a new direction. “There is fear and anxiety not knowing whether you’ll succeed or fail.” 

Terri Kern has spent an artistic lifetime traveling along a crooked stream between living the life she imagined and the traditional life she feared. There were surprises along the way, including marriage, although she wasn’t prone to dreams of family and picket fences. There were signposts, including awards, major sales and international acclaim, telling her she’s headed in the right direction. 

Most of all there are stories of her life. A long adventure from Junior Archaelogist to respected artist. A story captured in moments that happened just before another new adventure began.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Purchased by the Canton Museum of Art 2010.3

 
 

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“Through her first year of college she wanted to study Archaeology, but just didn’t have a mind for science. Fortunately she had the heart for art.”

2.
“Look on the mantle in her living room and you’ll find interesting stones and found objects mixed in with beautiful ceramic pieces from her friends. Indiana Jones meets Picasso.”

3.
“A painting instructor at Xavier once told her she did not use color well. Oh really??”

4.
“When you see laundry in her paintings, she was thinking of her grandmother, a source of comfort and safety.”

 
 

Kern Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.