We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jena Rivard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jena below.

Jena, appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

The hardest problem that I have come up against is getting my art out there. How to get into shows, how to get into galleries, how to get into shops, building a website or just learning social media.

I have found some avenues that have helped; the MIA has an artists opportunity page, searching for artists open call on google, family and friends sharing and liking my page and posts.

I’m still learning and trying to find new methods to get my art out there. I don’t have all the solutions yet …. just gotta keep working on it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am single mother of a child with special needs, and I have a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) due to a car accident in 2018. Before my TBI, pen & ink were my favorite. After my TBI, I had to
relearn how to create with other mediums. Pen and ink are still my favorite but not as easy to do
anymore. I have learned how to create using colored pencils, acrylic paint, and recycled materials to create signs, home décor, and sculptures.
Everything I make is made out of using household items and as much recycled materials as I can
get my hands on. My goal for each sculpture is to be fun, bring joy, and uniqueness. I continue to
learn new and creative avenues for art. With hope that not only will it bring happiness but that it
will show my daughter that no matter the challenges life brings you, you can still do what you
love.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I first started I asked all my family and friends to save things for me. Such as: cardboard, egg cartons, broken electronics, basically anything that wasn’t food. I was lucky to have a dear friend who works for company that ships glass. She spoke with them for me and they were more than happy to give me anything that was to be put in the dumpster. For them it was a win-win, they helped someone in the community bring unused items to life and it didn’t go into a landfill. So basically I wish I would have known that businesses are more than willing to give you their extra materials instead of putting it in the dumpster. You just have to ask.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to open a nonprofit art gallery and studio. After my car accident my whole life changed, it was hard to find others that could really understand and that I could talk to about the effects that it was having on me. I found an art event through the Brain Injury Alliance. When I went they did an event called “Unmasking Brain Injury.” My sister came with me and we created these masks of how we felt the brain injury effected our life. It was a really life altering event for me. After the event we spoke to some of the hosts and they said this was the only art event they had. They didn’t have enough donations to do more. That event was almost 6 years and still sticks with me today. In 2023 we launched our company (my sister and I), it’s slowly growing and our hope in the next 5 years is to be able to open the nonprofit, A safe space for anyone with a brain injury (or anyone) to create their journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.architectofart.com
• Instagram: iamthearchitectofart
• Facebook: Architect of Art