Season 238 Episode 8012
Own Your Wellness: S3E5
Renowned Artist and Lifestyle Entrepreneur Jane Pollak Introduces Her “Penny Rug” Collection of High-End Pillows and Wall-Hangings The artist, business coach and nationally recognized inspirational speaker Jane Pollak has done it again: she has channeled her prodigious talents into creating one of the most sought-after and coveted collections for home décor, this time by reimagining the two-hundred-year-old folk art of penny rug making. The craft can be traced back to the Civil War, when homemakers used scraps of felted wool from clothing and blankets to fashion rugs, bedcovers, pillows and wall hangings. They used coins, and even cups and saucers, as templates to sew circles, then hand-stitched around them with cotton to create designs incorporating images from everyday life. Today, Jane has elevated this traditional craft to new levels with her collection, adding a contemporary spin and an artist’s creative touch. Jane was recognized as having a natural talent for art as a young child, when she drew images on the basement walls of her family home, and later when, in the fourth grade, she was asked to paint a school mural. She established herself as an innovative, accomplished and enormously talented artist in the 1970s by mastering the art of pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter egg decorating. Jane was invited to contribute eggs to the White House Easter Egg Roll, which later were consigned to the Smithsonian, earning her appearances on The Today Show and a feature in the New York Times. In the early 2000s, Jane traded in her sketch pads for business books and transformed her art studio into an office as she began a new career as a successful business coach, author and public speaker. She authored Decorating Eggs: Exquisite Designs with Wax & Dye and a handbook for entrepreneurs, Soul Proprietor: 101 Lessons from a Lifestyle Entrepreneur, and gave a TEDx talk. Then, in March 2020, a week before the pandemic-related lockdown began, Jane’s creative juices once again began to flow. On an impulse, she attended a workshop with the well-known textile artist Liz Alpert Fay, reigniting a passion that had laid dormant for over two decades. “My inner artist was doing pushups,” Jane explains about returning to her first love. She began crafting wool appliqué penny rugs in a richly hued and contemporary palette, using the finest small batch-dyed wools, Perle cotton filaments, glass beads, and vintage buttons. “I love every part of the process, using simple tools and starting with the geometric forms. I want my hand - and the natural imperfections of my pieces - to show. That is where I feel most alive.” The result is a stellar collection of one-of-a-kind pillows and wall hangings, each one crafted with a unique design and combination of materials. Jane Pollak’s penny rugs are available at select showrooms, galleries and through interior designers.
