It's about Wellness...and art!
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Greetings everyone! Welcome to the inaugural post of my blog. I have been so busy with our website, orders, custom work and creating new sets of nails for the shop that I have not had time to sit down and talk to everyone! I would like for everyone to think of this as an ongoing space for conversation, a journal of events and a diary of what is in and on my mind.
I finally found the right time to start chatting with you. I will write more about the shop later, but I want to announce that there is an editorial piece about Talons Nail Art and our Cuticle Nectar in the current issue of Wellness emagazine. Yay!
It has been an honor to share parts of my story with the editors of Wellness magazine. They are wonderful to work with. The focus of the piece is wellness from the inside out and the simple rituals we can do to take care of ourselves. My cuticle oil, Cuticle Nectar, was a good fit for the editorial. When they found out I am an Artist who has gone from drawing to fiber art to lacemaking and back to painting (nails) over a span of 35 years, they were interested in finding out more about me.
I talk about my story at more length in the "About the Artist" section of this website. I have been an artist all of my life. I started with drawing when I was a teenager and began to sell my work and compete in various venues.
a portrait drawn from a photograph my first surrealistic drawing when I was 15 Wild Flower drawn from my baby photo
From there I went on to school and eventually became a fiber artist as I learned how to make lace in an Embroiderer's Guild of America meeting. I started to design my own lace patterns and opened up my first shop. My lacework was primarily sold as elaborate jewelry pieces but also adorned small boxes in the form of 3-D lace elements like flowers and butterflies. I sold my work online to patrons all over the world as Snappy Tatter and have been in several galleries.
Summer Gala-shuttle tatted necklace Ray the Tatterpillar mini keepsake box A display at the Blue Heron Art Gallery Blue Rose- hand embroidered flower
My designs became very whimsical and one-of-a-kind. Eventually I went back to painting with thread like the Blue Rose above and I began to paint digitally. Not Ai. Digitial painting with software and a pad you draw on with a stylus. My paintings are from photographs that I took with the exception of my expressionism which just came from instinct and my gut.
My Mac-portrait of my cat no title-a sunset I painted Grace-expressionist painting Baby-painting of my husband's cat
My work has been a mix of realism, surrealism and expressive works that help keep my mental wellness in check. It has always been an escape for me. My current work is mostly charcoal, pen and pencil and hasn't been anything I have done for competition or galleries. It has been art I have just done for the joy of it.
rampant doodle Portrait of a TAC-trgeminal autonomic cephalalgia My husband-charcoal doodle on steroids
Above are two recent abstracts I was playing with, a portrait of my husband, and a visual representation of a syndrome called cluster headaches from which I am disabled among other conditions.
Wellness has played a big part of my life because I have been disabled since 2000. I produce some of my best work whether it be on paper, on cloth, or on nails when I have not been feeling well. Sometimes, all I can do is work on art. Now my focus is art on mini canvases...nail art. The size is unforgiving and the materials I use have strict rules, but I like that about my nail work. It's a challenge. Sometimes I just create something beautiful to look at and other times I pull out a full-on artistic piece that I am proud of and know that it will be a special person to have me recreate the art nails in their size. As with all things art, it is in the perspective of the patron whether it is enjoyed or not. With that being said. I hope you have enjoyed the article in Wellness magazine and enjoyed my short story of my life as an artist.
Chat soon...enjoy your life!
Jennifer
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