She is an artist

Throughout March, which is Women’s History Month, the Times-Register is again publishing a series of articles highlighting local women. Whether it’s through their careers, hobbies, volunteer efforts or unique personalities, these women have inspired others.

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

“I’ve always been artist. I remember loving art classes as a little kid. At home, I was always drawing,” recalled Jillian Herrmann. 

But back then, growing up in her native North Carolina, she never envisioned that passion would turn into an adult career. One where she’s an accomplished painter and photographer, entrepreneur and leader in Elkader’s arts and culture scene.

Instead, Jillian thought she’d become an endodontist, or root canal specialist. But the subject matter didn’t come easily. Not like art.

Fueled by heartache and the passing of a friend, Jillian thought, “‘Life is so short. Why am I trying to struggle to just be perfect and make straights As in something I don’t really love? I’m going to figure out how to make it [in art.]’ That’s where I felt called. It just came naturally. So I changed to a bachelor of fine arts.”

College art classes allowed Jillian to work in a variety of mediums: ceramics, painting, drawing, photography. She was immediately attracted to both photography and abstract painting.

“I’d never done photography before. I started in the dark room, and I just thoroughly enjoyed it. And I also loved painting. I loved the freedom of abstraction from the get go,” she said. “I could not pick which one. To this day, I haven’t been able to pick one over the other because they’re both me.”

Jillian described painting as her escape. She can disappear into the studio for hours at a time.

Although some people think, “Oh, my kid could do this,” abstraction is harder than it looks.

“I paint from within, intuitively,” Jillian said. “You learn how colors react with each other and different ways you can use those colors to make an emotion. Think about the color red. It can be very gruesome, it can be very passionate, it can feel like summer—depending on how you use it and the colors used with it. You also learn how to do composition from nothing. I love to take these crazy, chaotic marks which, to me, is life, and make something beautiful out of the chaos.” 

“I’ve always been such a perfectionist,” she added. “We’re imperfect perfectionists trying to thrive in this world, and abstraction is where I’m able to let go of that.”

Some of Jillian’s art is commissioned. She typically asks the client to share adjectives—or words that describe how they want to feel when looking at the painting—as inspiration. From there, she forms a color palette.

“Do you want to be calm? Immediately, colors that come for calm are greens and blues. Are you wanting to feel energized? Is it a space where you want to feel invigorated? That might be a more vibrant piece,” she explained.

Most of Jillian’s work, though, is guided by her own feelings and experiences. She regularly exhibits at The Collective in Elkader, The Left Bank Shop and Gallery in McGregor and the Guttenberg Creativity Center. Other galleries have hosted short-term shows, and Jillian also sells her work online and at several art festivals.

Every sale, whether it’s a $5 card or a $1,000 painting, is meaningful.

“It feels so good to create something and someone values it enough to get their own and live with it,” Jillian said. “Throughout life, I’ve taken big leaps of faith. A lot of that comes from having faith. Spiritually, I feel like a lot of that comes out in my abstraction as well. At the festivals and working here at The Collective, I get to meet people who are buying, which is really fun. You get to talk to them and hear how they respond to the work. I’m not even saying it, and they’re coming to me with spiritual insight. That feels amazing. I want my work to speak more than what you see is what you get. I want to paint feelings. To have them feel what I’m painting is another level.” 

One experience last fall at the Driftless Area Art Festival in Soldiers Grove, Wis., stands out to Jillian. A woman came to her tent 10 minutes before closing on the final day. She was drawn to one of Jillian’s largest pieces, a part of her affirmation series that says “I am love.”

“It has ‘I am love’ in quotes and that energy throughout it in paint, and I even wrote a love note on the back of the piece,” Jillian recalled. “She cried in my booth and went home with that piece. Even if she hadn’t taken it, just to have that ‘I am enough, I am love.’ That kind of energy is what I want to put out in the world.”

On the flip side is Jillian’s photography. She largely takes portraits: seniors, families, engagements and weddings.

“I love love,” she said, “and I love seeing them interact, whether it’s a little family and a newborn or weddings and engagements. Sometimes that’s where my perfectionism comes out. So I work a little harder to lose some of the perfectionism and embrace the emotion and interaction in front of the camera.” 

Whichever medium she uses, Jillian said it’s all about connection—connecting with people and herself through art.

“We all go through different things and different struggles, and I feel like, at different points in my life, art has really helped me. It’s been a way to heal through things,” she said. “Most people are working on themselves constantly. For me, I was working on myself to let go, to know that I’m enough. Even if I didn’t do another thing, I’m enough as is. I’m loved, I’m whole. It’s hard because you still have moments of doubt and insecurity. Art helps me express myself.”

For the painting viewer, or the person on the other side of the camera lens, it’s also about “using art and photography to empower and make people see themselves the way I see them and feel connected and feel a sense of belonging,” Jillian added.

Art has helped her forge connections in the community too. Fifteen years ago, even before moving from North Carolina in 2013, Jillian recalled attending a Clayton County Artists meeting with her husband Zach’s grandmother. 

“What made it so awesome and easy for me to move 1,000 miles from my family and friends was that I instantly met a handful of great artists right here in our tiny community,” she said. “And since way before I moved here, there have been people involved in arts and culture, like at the opera house. There’s a community here that supports culture and entertainment.”

Jillian and other artists helped launch The Collective gallery, and the group has started “First Friday” events, unveiling new art the first Friday evening of each month. Other Elkader businesses are encouraged to stay open late too, making for a fun evening in the community.

Additionally, Jillian was part of the formation of Art in the Park. She believes the fine arts festival has brought not only visitors, but spurred growth in the visual arts in Elkader, including galleries and murals.

Jillian was quick to stress this success is not all about her.

“Everything I do in this community is because of other people who have supported, uplifted and said ‘Yes, I want to help.’ It’s not a one-woman show,” she said. “If Elkader wasn’t such an amazing town, with all these cute shops, would this work here? The gallery itself works because there’s 20 of us in here. We’re all passionate for helping and being involved and working together.”

As if this doesn’t keep Jillian busy enough, in the past year she also transformed a grain bin on the family farm near St. Olaf into a cabin that’s now available for rent on Airbnb. She’s even hosting an elopement for a lucky couple this summer. 

The effort not only brought a new use to the farm but allowed Jillian to express her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in a new way.

“It was hard, but exciting,” she said. “I just built this amazing thing, and I want to bring people to me. A lot of people think, in a small town, you have to go out to the big cities. But I’m trying to do the opposite. I want people to come to us and love what I love in northeast Iowa.”

Having so many outlets is what Jillian believes staves off the burnout others sometimes feel in their professions.

“It takes a lot of energy to run a small business, and I have struggled with balance,” she acknowledged. “As I grow and have gotten busier over the years, I have to remind myself that the most important thing to me is my family, faith, friends.”

Having a strong support system—within her close circle and in the community—helps.

“I’ve been supported in so many ways to do what I love,” Jillian shared. “It’s also been a big year for me to uplift and encourage. Part of the reason I’ve been growing in my success is because of the connections and genuinely loving and caring about people. Whatever business you’re in, that is a huge part of it. Us women, especially, have this ability to nurture and care and love. It might be why so many of us are thriving and making a difference in our small towns. Elkader is a beautiful place, and I’m happy if I’m helping make it a space where people feel like they belong.”