Jenni Ivins
Business name: Mind Drawing
Jenni is an early mid-career artist who works across disciplines and genres. Along with her voice, the pen, keyboard, camera and tablet are her most used tools. Her practice focuses on communication - and miscommunication - by creating Mind Drawings through which she shows people we don't all see the same thing in the same way.
While her workshops are sought by Councils, community houses and schools as an element of an arts festival or a stand-alone event, Jenni likes to use them as one of the low cost, or no cost, value-adding embellishments at her exhibitions. She wants to make the Arts accessible to all, regardless of income or ability. Jenni is considering different methods she could use to create Mind Drawings for people with impaired sight.
Her practice is project based. She has developed a business blueprint of activities to engage her audience throughout the creation of each themed body of work, and throughout the subsequent touring of the exhibition. Her process is designed to connect communities domestically and abroad, through the exploration of literature, people and environment; opening dialogues about the commonalities and differences in how we see and the effects of this phenomenon in our intended communication.
Her current project is Mind Drawing Children's Stories, with an exhibition opening in Port Fairy in November 2016. The following one will be Mind Drawing Shakespeare, which will link communities in Australia and England. Visit Jenni's website, if you'd like to know more or to get involved: https://www.minddrawing.net
In the Mind Drawing above, Disenchanted Forest, the big, overall image is clearly a tree stump, although there are many other icons to see as well. If you would like a PDF of this to print and colour, head to Jenni's website: www.minddrawing.net (You can also look for the tiny four-leafed clover that Jenni always hides in her Mind Drawings.)
You can also see the pivotal piece in Jenni's Mind Drawing practice, Hidden in Plain Sight. It was through this piece, she discovered we do not all see the same way.
In a quick glance at this picture, about 90% of people asked, first notice one overall thing. The other 10% see something else.
Some viewers need to be shown what stands out to others because, to them, it is truly hidden in plain sight. Luckily, human nature appears to lead us to help the other person to see our point of view - but that conversation can only happen when people are aware that there's more than one way of seeing something.
Jenni's work asks, 'Do you see this the same way as someone beside you?'