Junk to Jazz makes art accessible by transforming upcycled materials into useful resources and facilitating art events.

Since 2017, our artwork has been personally crafted by Ms. Jean “Dorothy” Carter, an award-winning visual artist who loves creating pieces out of everyday materials often discarded and viewed as “junk.” Ms. Carter puts some pizazz into her finds, taking them from “junk” to “jazz.”

Meet the Artist

For more than a decade, Jean has used whimsical designs of nature, creating artsy-fartsy one-of-a-kind unique pieces of art for her viewer's delight. She draws inspiration from a fearless spirit that is not afraid to explore new things, allowing her to create from a space of survival. Jean can take any object, from food, to textiles to bring creativity into a practical purpose with vibrancy and life. Jean’s curiosity for the arts evolved from her youth. As a child, she would use her grandmother’s simple tissue paper patterns as her first medium to draw upon. She used vogue envelopes as a guide, dreaming about growing up to be just like the artists, designing and coloring with great imagination.

Jean “Dorothy” Carter Owner

Awards and Recognition

  • South Bend Museum of Arts “Around the Bend” featured artist

  • South Bend Civic theater honoree for the abstract collection depicting plays by August Wilson