FeaturesTop Stories

Jesse Kline Followed Her Dream

Acting executive director of the Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District makes an impression

By Joe Sarnicola

 

Jesse Kline has transformed her home by turning the 1980s-looking rooms into colorful artistic statements.

Jesse Kline, of Auburn, has always been artistic.

“I struggled to identify my media, [but] I finally discovered I am a decorative artist rather than a fine artist.”

The process of that discovery began when she was very young. She would draw and color pictures and display them in her room. In her teens she would collect objects and furniture pieces she found interesting and she would carefully arrange them in her room.

She took as many high school art classes as she could, and that training led to a dual master’s degree in art history and museum studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.

She now works as an independent interior decorator as well as being the acting executive director of the Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District, an agency that promotes and markets the Auburn community.

One of Kline’s most personal and continually evolving projects is the house she grew up in, which she had bought from her parents. She has transformed her home by turning the 1980s-looking rooms into colorful artistic statements.

“I added some major punch and color by hiring local artists Alan Alger, Blake Chamberlain, Peter Mack and Heather Bruno-Sears. I hired an amazing contractor, Paul Elise, to build a copper-topped bar, which is now the focal point of my home,” she said.

She likes to joke that her home is called the “hotel no tell,” because of the parties she has hosted, but renovating it to make it party-ready was a complicated process.

“When I reclaimed the house I grew up in, the walls were all white with track lighting everywhere. There was exposed lathe in the stairwell and exposed beams in the downstairs bedroom. The wall between the kitchen and the parlor made both rooms very dark. Turns out, white is a perfect backdrop to add tons of color and pattern! The only question is how far to go,” she said.

The work involved installing new drywall and replacing light fixtures before some of the decorating could begin. She loves to go to thrift stores, garage sales and antique shops looking for items to use in her own home or in the homes of some of her clients. Sometimes she even finds items to use or repurpose in the homes of her clients that they may have forgotten about or put into storage. She views each project as a whole, so that every room tells part of the same story, with the emphasis being on herself as an artist first and a decorator second.

Somehow, back in 2007, word of her home reached the producers of an HGTV program called “Offbeat America,” which, according to Kline, “showcases unique and creative residences across the country,” and it was featured in the premier episode of the show.

This segment can still be viewed by searching for Jesse Kline and Offbeat America on Youtube, as well on her website, www.jessekline.com.

During the period when she was unsure which direction to take with her art, she consulted Mary Anne Giacona, owner of the Center4Wellness in Auburn. Giacona asked her to describe her ideal and the answer came out quickly, “Interior decorating.”

“After that, I started building a data base of clients, a collection of before and after photos and a web presence,” Kline said.

Her website contains examples of her public, commercial and residential art, a brief biography and contact information.

She likes to repurpose and recycle items, which saves money and reduces waste.

“My strength is working with what people have and lot of the work is just editing,” she explained. “The budgets you often see on TV shows are not realistic for most people.”

Two other people she said inspired or encouraged her were professor Daniel Reiff of Fredonia College, where she took some courses and Susan Marteney, who hired her as an intern at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn.

“I also did an internship at The Adams Art Gallery in Dunkirk, New York. I really enjoyed working in museums, but it seemed graphic design was a part of every job I’ve done,” she added.

With the financial support of Guy Consentino and the Stardust Foundation, Kline went to Philadelphia with another local artist and friend, David Tobin, for training in mosaic murals at a workshop led by Isaiah Zagar, a Philadelphia based mural artist. Within a month of completing the training, they were both working with other artists and volunteers on a mural in Auburn. The first one being for a historic local business, Angelo’s Pizza.

“One project led to another,” she said “The community comes out to help and it gives them a sense of ownership. Visitors to Auburn really like the public art.”

The New York Downtown Revitalization Initiative has provided funding for several of these projects.

“We have engaged hundreds of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to create public art in downtown. We have numerous projects under our belt, and more in the hopper,” she said.

Although she is now the acting executive director of the BID, she has worked there since 2010. Promoting local history, art and tourism has always been important to her, having previously worked for the Cayuga County Office of Tourism and served on Auburn’s Historical and Cultural Sites Commission. Her current position involves public art projects, event planning, communications and marketing and curating local art shows.

Independently, she created and led Art for Auburn in 2010, an initiative that has completed more than 20 projects that include sculptures, murals, painted planters and signage. She is also a three-time New York State Council on the Arts Grant recipient and a member of the Finger Lakes Art Council, whose mission is to create “an environment that supports, fosters, provides and promotes inclusive arts programming, open to all residents, artists and visitors, throughout the Finger Lakes Region.”

She summed up her life as an artist with this statement, “I followed my dream of being an interior decorator.”