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attending Hanover College where he played
baseball, though his heart was always in aesthetics.
“We couldn’t use the computer for graphic
design until our junior year,” recalled Kleinert,
whose work was quickly noticed and admired
by his professors and peers.
“Everything had to be hands on. We were using
computers, but they still wanted our work to have a
fine art feel to it and think with our minds instead
of thinking with a computer. Even after we could
start using computers, I did quite a few projects
all by hand because I enjoyed it.”
Years later, Kleinert – who co-writes Extol
Magazine’s FamFitter column with his wife,
Kristin, and also serves as the publication’s creative
director – enjoys expressing his artistic talents in
various mediums.
“It’s always whatever hits me or inspires me,”
Kleinert said. “Sometimes, I’ll paint, sometimes
I’ll draw. I’ll do live drawings on Facebook, and I
do a comic (sometimes live on Facebook) every
week. I just do whatever I can to release all of my
creative juices.”
On his Facebook page – Adam Kleinert
Workroom – followers can find the adorable
and hilarious comic “Poco & Mo,” which was
inspired by one of his daughters and her pet goat,
as well as several of his other projects. The latest
undertaking he’s shared is handmade jewelry
crafted with resin and barn wood.
“The wood I’m working with now came out of
a barn in Charlestown,” he said. “The beams are
probably 150 years old or more, and the barn has
been torn down since. (The jewelry) has a true
Southern Indiana history to it, and it’s almost like
a little piece of history you’re wearing.”
Kleinert said he devised the method for making
the pieces by accident.
“I started playing with (the wood) for another
project, but as I cut into it, I found all these holes.
Mother nature and time had just destroyed this
wood but in a beautiful way to where there are
holes and gaps,” he said. “It’s just been eaten at
and deteriorated by pests and bugs and everything
through the years. Then, I started thinking about
this resin and playing around with it, so it just
kind of came naturally after that, and I turned it
into pendants and earrings.”
Kleinert has since perfected the process,
which requires a great deal of patience. While
60 EXTOL : APRIL/MAY 2019
it is admittedly painstaking, he appreciates the
experience.
“With this jewelry, the resin and the wood, I
don’t know what’s going to happen when I pour
it because I can’t see inside the wood until I cut
into it and get to see these beautiful colors and
shapes. So, I don’t even know how much I’m
actually doing there. It’s more that mother nature
did all the hard work,” Kleinert said.
As sole owner of Hatch Design Co., a graphic
design company, Kleinert said, “I have my
design work where I plan and collaborate with
clients, which I thrive on, and I appreciate those
partnerships and structure.”
The artist lives in Henryville with his wife, four
children and several furry family members in a
rural setting, all of which feeds into his creative
and energetic spirit on every level.
“I have a lot of family around and it’s always a
blessing to have that. And I like being out in the
country,” he said. “I think I draw a lot of inspiration
from that as well. I’ve never really thought about
it before now, but I think the small community
and kind of being out in the open inspires me.”
And, with his new foray into jewelry making,
he has experienced a newness he didn’t expect.
“It can be more free-flowing,” said Kleinert. “You
can mess it up and it still turns out in a beautiful
way. That’s what I like about it: being creative and
letting whatever comes out, come out.”
Adam Kleinert’s jewelry is available at
Regalo, 562 S. Fourth St. in Louisville or via @
AdamKleinertWorkroom