In July this year, after 37 years in Education, Jean Kiekopf, a dedicated and internationally celebrated English teacher, taught her last classes in school. A loss to education? Perhaps… but what a gain for the world of local art!
Jean says, “I have been so blessed in the people I have worked with and the places I have explored in my professional life… England, Botswana, Borneo and workshops, research and conferences in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt and Oman.
I’ve put on Shakespearean plays with students in Botswana that have run for seven nights and had 1,000s of students see their GCSE texts brought to life. I’ve also written English and literature text books for sub Saharan Africa, I’ve taken groups of British teachers to Botswana as part of International Professional Development and have made over 100 Magic Moments video clips of great classroom activities in ESL/EAL classrooms (thanks to film crew of husband Klaus, and son Luke). I also made peer education videos and resources with colleagues who have become lifelong friends.”
In 1997, Jean wrote the Botswana Cambridge exam with UCLES and within the last 10 years, she’s completed her Masters in Professional Development in Language Education with distinction and Cambridge University CELTA – Grade A.
Jean summed up this diverse, lengthy career saying, “I have dedicated myself to my students and teams. I have cried when it’s been frustrating and laughed with colleagues to get us through when things have got tough. I, with so many other education professionals, have risen to the challenges of working through the horrors of the AIDS pandemic in Botswana at the turn of the century and recently the Covid lockdowns in England… but loved every minute of it. It has been the best kind of rollercoaster and I am so grateful to all the people I have ridden it with.”
But now, Jean says, it’s time for a change. She vehemently denies any suggestion that she is “retiring” a term she appears to find vaguely insulting, and is bubbling with excitement at her new venture in sculpting and human casting! She regards this mental approach to the change in her life as following her Ikigai!
What’s Ikigai?
Put simply, Ikigai is the Japanese philosophy for discovering your ‘Reason for Life’. It involves the convergence of Ikigai’s four primary elements: what you love (your passion), what the world needs (your mission), what you are good at (your vocation), and what you can get paid for (your profession).
The Birthday Gift
(That just keeps on giving!)
This time last year Jean had made 2 sculptures – under the instruction of a craft gift given to her by brother-in-law Steve. Enjoying the process so much Jean decided to embark on making sculptures as her Christmas gifts. She explained that every year she aims to create, not buy, her gifts. This was how her exploration of human figure sculpture began.
Having created for Christmas, Jean’s Illustrator sister Fiona (they are the youngest in a family of seven siblings) suggested she exhibit and sell them at the Bell Gallery, Bungay, where Fiona was set to exhibit in May.
In true Jean style, she devoted every spare minute to creating three collections, 40 sculptures in all, to exhibit. She was off the starting block and on a steep learning curve. As Jean describes it, “I had no knowledge of pricing my art, promoting it or guessing what the demand might be, I just knew that this is what I’m meant to be doing.
Creating the human figures allows me to explore human connections and form. I love bringing a sense of warmth and animation to the pieces I create.”
The three collections
‘Leaving Ego at the Door ‘
A celebration of human form in yoga poses. Jean discovered her love of yoga and what it offers both mind and body about 15 years ago. She practices regularly with many of the local yoga teachers who she celebrates in this collection. Leaving Ego at the Door is an essential part of being in the moment for Jean in her yoga practice. This collection has a range of standing, seated and palm size figurines to choose from. Jean takes on commissions for your own selection of yoga poses to adorn your yoga spaces at home or in your studio. They can also be commissioned in larger sizes for outdoor display.
‘Freedom at the Festival’
Since her teenage years in East Anglia attending the Albion fairs and more recently at Latitude and Folk East, Jean has loved people watching In the festival environment. In this collection she has captured tableaux of people and families enjoying the freedom of festival days and the escape from the hectic day to day routines of work and school.
‘No Wings Required’
A visual fight of fancy inspired by Jean’s family members of the next generation who enjoy arial hoops, silks, gymnastics, rock climbing and acrobatics. If you don’t have space for a figurative standing/seated ornament, these lightweight flyers can easily be suspended on fishing line as 3D wall art.
Outdoor sculptures
These have been created using a waterproof, weather resistant plaster. They can be displayed outdoors and withstand frost and wind. Holes in their heavy steel bases mean they can also be attached to plinths for stunning garden display.
Commissions are go!
Not long after sharing her work for family and friends on her private facebook page, Jean began to get requests for commissions: dancers, pole dancers, yoga poses, family groupings, clay pigeon shooters, creation of iconic family photos, pregnancy and new baby sculptures – you name it people wanted it! That included dogs, cats and horses!
Jean described this period as, “Overwhelmingly rewarding and humbling – to be allowed to create statement pieces for clients’ loved ones on their special birthdays and anniversaries is an honour and privilege and one I will always feel blessed to be able to do.” She is now ready to take on your commissions for your special occasion.
Current Exhibition 13 to 27 Nov,
W Gallery 45A Thoroughfare,
Woodbridge IP12 1AH
You can meet Jean and discuss her sculptures and your ideas for commissions.
