Lunchtime Lecture- 25 Years of Youth, 25 Years of Marriage, 25 Years of Braiding: The Life and Art of Jessie Catherine Kinsley

Born into the Oneida Community, Jessie Catherine Kinsley was raised amidst ideas of free-love, gender equality, and Perfectionism, by a group of people who believed they were bringing about heaven on earth. She lived through the tumultuous years of the breakup of the Community, entered into traditional family life, and became a regionally famous artist. Though she dabbled in many media including drawing, painting, poetry, and children’s books, she is most known for her braidings. Kinsley invented an artform that used discarded dresses and fabric to create gigantic braided mosaics that depicted scenes from literature, scripture, nature, and history. Learn about Kinsley’s unconventional upbringing and dive deeply into her artwork to learn how they were made and the meanings behind them with the Oneida Community Mansion House’s Director of Museum Affairs, Dr. Tom Guiler.

This talk will be presented both in-person and via Zoom. Attendance is FREE with a recommended $10 donation. You can register here: https://eriecanalmuseum.org/store/product/lecture/