Art, Flow, and the Middle of Nowhere | Jennifer Rife on Creativity and Land Installations, Ep. 61 | iNNOVATION Insights
What does it mean to create art in the “middle of nowhere”?
In this captivating episode of iNNOVATION Insights, host Dr. Eulanda Sanders reconnects with Jennifer Rife, a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans fiber art, basketry, photography, and site-specific land installations. Jennifer shares her winding creative journey—from her childhood in Lamar, Colorado, to her years as a graphic designer, exhibition coordinator, and creator of thought-provoking outdoor installations.
Jennifer discusses her concept of the “middle of nowhere,” how it connects to geography and personal experience, and why she documents her work using GPS coordinates. She dives into the transformative power of the flow state, the importance of curiosity, and how unexpected inspirations—like early childhood memories, caves with petroglyphs, and the Spiral Jetty—have shaped her artistic vision.
⚫This episode is a must-listen for artists, educators, and innovators interested in:
◾Tapping into flow for creative breakthroughs
◾The process behind creating and photographing land installations
◾Blending traditional artistry with experimental approaches
◾Finding inspiration in geography, memory, and everyday objects
◾Encouraging audiences to ask questions rather than seek answers
Jennifer’s advice to emerging artists? Be bold, embrace failure, and follow the ideas that feel “ripe.”
⚫Connect with Jennifer
◾Website: https://artinthemiddleofnowhere.com/
◾Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WYjennifer.rife
◾Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artinthemiddleofnowhere/
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Jennifer Rife
Artist
Jennifer Rife has resided in Cheyenne, Wyoming for more than 20 years after growing up in rural
Colorado, establishing the high prairies of the American West as the place she calls home.
Exploring a variety of geographies on road trips across the U.S. and Canada has enhanced her love
and appreciation of the West’s wide-open spaces, sparse population, and vast skies. The built
environment she has seen along the way provides endless references for her ephemeral art
installations on the land, created with objects she makes in her studio.
Viewers experience Jennifer’s installations as digital photographs of unfamiliar objects in remote
landscapes. As records of a moment in time, her images also raise questions that are difficult for
a viewer to answer. What are the objects? Why are they there? Through her practice, she considers
how humans interact with our land: what we take, what we leave, and to what end.
Jennifer was one of five Wyoming women artists curated for consideration in 2024’s Women to Watch:
New Worlds at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. She has exhibited her
work throughout the United States after earning her BFA with Highest Distinction at the University
of Kansas, has had her work featured in books and articles, and received a Wyoming Arts Council
Visual Arts Fellowship.
An avid visitor of museums and land art sites, Jennifer finds ideas in a
variety of art forms, mostly in work that transcends time and
place.