By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — As side hustles go, Jennifer Garonzik, could not have done any better — and there is nothing “plane” about her, even if she figuratively jets around the region to practice her “plein air” oil painting.
“I am based here in Blowing Rock and I am primarily a plein air artist. That means I paint outdoors, on location. I’m inspired by the ever changing light and the beauty of this area. Everywhere you look there is a potential painting,” said Garonzik in speaking with Blowing Rock News at Edgewood Cottage, where she was exhibiting the week of June 22-28, as part of the Artists in Residence series hosted by the Blowing Rock Historical Society. “I often go to Bass Lake or the Cone Manor trails. Sometimes I am near my home off of Blackberry Road. I just try to capture something special, moment to moment in our environment.”
Garonzik explained that she always loved art, from an early age.
“My art teacher in high school, up in Frederick County, Maryland, brought a plein air watercolor artist into our class,” Garonzik recalled. “Frederick County is a fairly rural area. He would take us out into the nearby farm fields. We would sit on the ground and paint watercolor. I loved it — but then I didn’t do it again for probably 30 years!”
As with a lot of people, it turns out life got in the way.
I know what that is! I love plein air!
“I got a degree in studio art from University of North Carolina, Greensboro and was in graphic design for a long time. I did some book illustrations, some education work, and some teaching. I got married and took some time off to have my kids and raise them. About 10 years ago, I was hired by the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum as the Education Center Director,” said Garonzik.
And then, life offered an unexpected trigger point for her passion.
“The more time I was at BRAHM, the more I missed making my own art,” said Garonzik. “Then when Sue Glenn, a local real estate professional and avid BRAHM supporter first suggested a Blowing Rock Plein Air Festival as a fundraiser for BRAHM, I eagerly raised my hand and said, ‘I know what that is. I love plein air! I want to be in charge of this!,'” said Garonzik, smiling.
Helping run the festival rekindled Garonzik’s interest in the plein air style, so it didn’t take long before she was out and about, watercolors, easel and brushes in tow, happy as a lark.
“But then, some of my artist friends suggested I try plein air painting with oils. So, about three years ago I took the plunge and committed more to working in oil paints and am loving it,” said Garonzik.
This is Garonzik’s first year showing at Edgewood Cottage for the Artists in Residence series and, looking at her work, it’s a shame we missed out on her talents during that 30-year gap when life got in the way.
“This is a side thing for me, in addition to my job at BRAHM, my family, and my garden… all of those things. But for Edgewood Cottage, I wanted to highlight my work in oils, so everything you see are pieces I have done over the past three years,” said Garonzik.
BRAHM’s education specialist suggested that it is a little easier for her to do plein air with oils than watercolors.
“Unlike with watercolors, I can do oils when it is damp and misty, drizzly even,” said Garonzik. “Under those same conditions, it is very difficult with watercolors. In a humid environment, with watercolors it is very tricky getting things to dry the way you want. So it is less predictable. Sometimes you want one layer to dry before you do the next layer. We live in a temperate rainforest here in Blowing Rock, something like a hundred inches of rain each year, on average. So, I have found oils to be a little easier in this environment. I still do watercolors occasionally and I dabble in gouache and acrylic but my love right now is for oil painting.”
For me, plein air painting is almost like a meditation… It takes me away for a little bit and helps me re-center my life.
Different people are drawn to different things, whether art, sports, mathematics, mechanics, farming or any number of potential interests.
“I think I have always had a creative bug,” said Garonzik. “I like to make things. Even when I wasn’t making art for myself, I was crocheting things, making clothes for my kids, making costumes, drawing or painting with them. Especially with plein air painting, for me it is almost like a meditation because I go out somewhere beautiful and I am focused on that canvas for an hour or however long it takes me. I’m not thinking about the news or my kids. Painting plein air outdoors takes me away for a little bit and helps me re-center my life. It is a stress reliever and a creative outlet.”
Interestingly, Garonzik explained that serving as an Artist in Residence, sharing her painted images of familiar places from around the area with the many visitors to Edgewood Cottage during the week, it has allowed her to connect with people.
“I don’t think about that when I am painting, but being here at Edgewood has been very cool because of making those connections,” she said. “As an exhibitor, I get to see people’s reactions to my work. Sometimes when I am out painting at Bass Lake, for instance, I will interact with people passing by who stop to talk, but this exhibit at Edgewood is on a much bigger scale.”
Creating art is also about learning to solve problems.
Transitioning to her work at BRAHM as the Education Center Director, Garonzik was asked about the importance of art to a child’s education and her answers were profound.
“I’m glad you asked that because it is very important,” said Garonzik. “At BRAHM, we start with kids as young as two and pre-literacy skills. It is about developing language and talking about colors, shapes, sizes and directions. The fine motor skills that a child needs to develop in order to go on and learn to write well. These are really important foundations. For the older school kids, I find that it is important for a lot reasons, too, but especially the creative release to make things with their hands. Kids these days are on screens (computers, phones, etc.) so much they aren’t actually doing things, physically, with their hands as much as they really need to. Developmentally, I think it is really important.
“Creating art is also about learning to solve problems,” she added. “When I teach, I often don’t give kids pencils and erasers. I force them to draw with a marker or a crayon, pastel or paint, because I want them to learn how to problem-solve. If they make a mark they don’t like, instead of falling apart and giving up i want them to push through and learn how to take their mistakes and turn them into masterpieces.”
Just call Garonzik the “anti-device” teacher.
“At BRAHM, I frequently take the kids through one or more of the various exhibits. I grew up in Frederick County, which is not far from Washington, D.C. We’d often take trips to museums or aquariums and such. Here in Appalachia, we don’t have as many of those opportunities so I am very passionate about getting our local children to come to the museum. I want them to think, ‘Hey, museum’s are cool. Museums are fun. Museums are somewhere I belong.’ Developing that sense of belonging is important.”
Garonzik revealed that of the common masters of art, Cezanne and his very bold, blocky brush strokes appealed to her.
“He wasn’t concerned with photo-realism,” she said. “This was a period right after cameras were invented, so artists felt free to paint with more expression in their work and not so much hyper-realistic detail. He was in that first or second generation of artists exploring art as a more expressive form. Artists were influenced quite a bit by the invention of the camera. Artists no longer had to document the world as it is. They could put their spin on it, as well as their feelings.”
Talking with Garonzik, it is easy conclude that she is no Plain Jane when it comes to plein air painting. She is a thought-provoking scholar of her work, a talented artist and a valued teacher, all rolled into one.
