Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Jean Lee.
Jennifer, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Confession: I’d quit making art many years ago to become a (financially) “responsible adult” and jumped into working a 9-to-5 job. I felt despair about being in debt, the money from making art was inconsistent, but ultimately, I felt like I wasn’t good enough as an artist. So instead of working harder to become a better artist, I ran from it to do something else.
It did not help there was also a lot of opposition for the pursuit of this career from my family. Though, reflecting back and seeing things from their perspective, I think the unconventional path of a creative made them feel I would be left financially insecure and among many other hardships. People tend to fight things that don’t have cookie-cutter tendencies. I should have slowed down, looked at the bigger picture and worked out the problems in a more creative way to continue my journey as an artist.
Even after saying goodbye to the art path I got myself into other things like crocheting, making 1:12 scale miniature foods, sewing, etc. It took me a while to realize that nothing other than the flow state I found myself in when creating and the process of creating a piece from a tangle of ideas into something whole made me happy. So, here I am back at it again!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
The art I create is ever-changing and constantly evolving. I want to try my hands on everything and anything that pique my interest. Currently, I’m in pursuit of adding dimensions and more interest with resin.
In my works, I try to incorporate an explosion of colors and vibrancy. I also like creating works that makes the viewer feel like time has stopped when they look at the piece up close. I often strive to create pieces that can make people feel “happy.” I want to be able to move people and evoke an emotional and personal response to my works. I want the audience to be able to participate with their own thoughts, feel uplifted and have their own reactions to my pieces. When it comes down to it — can I make a personal connection with an absolute stranger? Also, holo glitter! I can’t get enough of that stuff in all the things I do!
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
I used to strongly believe that success equaled money and would get stressed out if I didn’t move a piece out at every show. Once I changed my attitude and had a better grasp and handle on my financial health thanks to Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover,” I could enjoy the process of creating with my heart more. This lead to pieces that pushed more of my comfort zones that helped create works that were stronger. Now I feel more connected to inspiration and even feel bold enough to explore and experiment. Even though I feel I don’t have a definitive style, I’m more at peace with myself because now I understand this too is just part of the process. This is a trade where the learning will never stop. My definition of success now is about being happy with the work that goes into the piece that I create.
The three Ps: Passion, patience, and persistence are essential to success as an artist. My advice for the struggling artist, the doubtful artist, and the artists that feel they will never blossom into their own: Don’t stop being passionate and be kind to yourself. You don’t need to make a masterpiece each and every time. As a matter of fact, you should go make as many mistakes as you need and learn from them! Someone once said that you have to create a crap ton of crappy art before making one good one. Also, If you have to stop making art to make ends meet, then don’t be cruel to yourself for taking a break. Nothing breaks inspiration more than a broken wallet and being financially unhealthy. That stuff can snowball out of control fast!
This is a trade that you will constantly be learning something new every time. True mastery is accepting the reality that art is a perpetual cycle of learning and evolving your craft.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find my current body of work on Instagram and upcoming shows in my profile section. I also try to keep it up to date and share behind the scenes or work in progress posts in the stories. Anyone can support my work by following my Instagram and or coming to various group art shows I participate in at local galleries like La Bodega and Thumbprint Gallery. I’m also working towards doing more shows with Giant Robot in Los Angeles. I’ll hopefully have an online shop running by this year.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixelcrafter/
Image Credit:
Photo of myself by @hiyabing on Instagram
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
