The Original Clementine Hunter Collection Artwork Designed by Jennifer Aycock Sweeney
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118 NOVEMBER 2015 | WW W. BAY O ULI FEM AG .C OM
ATERIAL THINGS IS PROUD TO CARRY THE original Clementine Hunter Collection by Jennifer Sweeney. Jennifer Aycock Sweeney remembers well the first time she was introduced to a Clementine Hunter painting. “It was in the summer of 1968, I was about sixteen years old, visiting in the home of my aunt in Baton Rouge. She was so pleased to have recently acquired a fine work of primitive art. It was a gift from a friend’s private collection. As I admired the wonderful washday scene, my aunt told me the story about an interesting little woman who painted her pictures down on Melrose Plantation…” Clementine (pronounced Clementeen) Hunter was born between December 1886 and early January 1887 on Hidden Hill Plantation in Northwestern Louisiana, the setting believed to be the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Her father moved his family away from the isolation and harsh conditions of Hidden Hill while Clementine was still a young girl. Later, after several moves in search of work and a better life, the family made their home on Melrose Plantation near Natchitoches, Louisiana. This was Cane River Country, fondly known as the “Joyous Coast.” Life at Melrose would powerfully influence Clementine. This plantation home known as the “Big House” had become a mecca for the best-known artists, playwrights and authors of the day. They would travel from locations worldwide to this sanctuary in the South for extended stays at the “Big House.” Though Clementine worked out in the fields and gardens of the plantation during her early years at Melrose, she eventually moved into the main house where she quickly became popular among its distinguished guests as an accomplished and imaginative cook. From these frequent and gifted visitors flowed a creativity that filled the halls of Melrose and the heart of Clementine. Her first painting was “marked,” as she would say, on an old window shade using discarded brushes and tubes of paint left behind by a visiting artist. Today her work endures. Clementine Hunter is regarded as one of America’s most famous Folk Artists. The idea of using the works of Miss Hunter as the inspiration for designs on tableware came in 1992 when Jennifer was asked by a friend to create a table setting as part of a local fundraiser. The fundraiser was to be a lavish party at which Martha Stewart would be the celebrity guest. Response to those first pieces was remarkable and led to Jennifer’s interest in sharing Clementine’s colorful artwork on ceramics for others to enjoy. The Original Clementine Hunter Collection was first produced in 1993. It has been carefully reproduced to reflect her memories captured on canvas of days that are gone. Even the smears and smudges remain in order to more accurately reflect her primitive style. Jennifer produces only the finest quality pieces featuring designs that reflect the true spirit of the original artist. Find all three of Jennifer Sweeney’s Clementine Hunter Collections at Material Things in Monroe: Wash Day, Threshing Pecans and Pickin’ Cotton.