Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenni Harmon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jenni, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

There are definitely times that I wish I started sooner. For years I put off a consistent art practice and instead blamed not having the space or the time. Whenever I would pull out my paints I would be reminded of how alive it made me feel but would put them away again with the excuses, “I need more space”, “When the kids get a little older”, “I don’t have the time.” Instead, I just carried around that ‘someday’ desire.

One of my biggest challenges that I faced and had to work through (and still work through sometimes) is the fact that I dove into my art in my forties. How could I possibly be successful when I have not had the schooling, the years of experience or the practice like others?

But looking back, what I realize is that if I bravely chose art school right out of high school I would not have had the incredible experiences and life skills training that the US Navy provided me with. Bootcamp, Naval Aircrew Candidate School, Survival School, SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) School, being the first female In-flight technician in the squadron and my 1500+ hours of flying tactical missions laid the groundwork for a lot of the mindset and determination that I carry in my life and that is required to be a successful artist. I wear my uniform while I paint as a reminder of those lessons learned and to keep pushing forward.

Jenni, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I cannot remember a time in my life where I was not expressing myself creatively. I loved to paint, draw, and doodle. I have written in a journal since 1985. I loved the performing arts. I had lead roles in plays and sang many solo performances throughout high school. But I think like many people when I graduated high school, I did not think being a professional artist was practical or even achievable so I did not consider it.

Instead, I spent many years searching for my life’s purpose. I spent 5.5 years in the US Navy to fulfill my travel desires. When I left the Navy I finished my undergrad and although I was infatuated with my art classes and had the lead role one of our musicals, I was still too afraid to pursue an art degree.

After graduating college, I worked in many different jobs, still searching. I built my own successful dog walking/house sitting business and eventually I settled into a solid career and spent 10 successful years in a Fortune 500 luxury brand corporation. It still wasn’t enough.

No matter where I was in life professionally, I was always making and creating something. Painting. Drawing self-portraits. Wood carving. Creating greeting cards. Making quilts with my mom. Writing. I even tried welding. I secretly wished that I could go back to school for fine arts.

Practicing yoga regularly led me to start teaching it in 2017 and is something I still do and love to do today. Yoga helped me to focus on what was going on internally, to be able to hear those subtle voices in the back of my mind with a little more clarity and it ignited the desire to explore myself more and help others along the way.

In October 2019 I was determined to find my life purpose. Yoga was close, but there was still something missing. I started living by the word “unapologetic” and began questioning every single decision I had in a day. Everything from the clothes I wore, to the food I ate, the people I spent time with and the way I spent my free time, I asked myself, “Is this me?” I really got to know myself.

‘Unapologetic’ gave me the strength to start eliminating what wasn’t serving me and doing more of what made me come alive inside. It gave me the courage to try things I’ve always wanted to do but was afraid to , not only in pursuing art as a profession but things like learning how to skateboard at 42, writing a first draft of a book, getting more creative in the stories and themes I shared in my yoga classes and sharing my experiences and stories overall.

It was the most transformational year of my life.

One day my husband and I were having a conversation about what we wanted to do in retirement someday. At that moment in our kitchen, I had a big ‘Aha” moment. It became completely clear. I told him I never wanted to retire and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life learning and developing myself, making and selling art, writing & teaching yoga. That’s when we agreed to invest in my passion and we created the space to support my brand and mission.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Much of what drives my creative journey is that I started later in life in my forties. I am so grateful that I did not continue down the path of the “someday I wills”. Instead, I am living it. Breathing it. Experiencing it. The drive to make up that ‘lost’ time is very powerful.

It is my mission to help others. I want my art, writing, yoga classes, and my philosophy of life to ignite something within in them. To inspire them to start living unapologetically and to trust that they have the answers within them. To encourage them to try new things, that age should never stand in the way and that they should continue pursuing anything that lights them up inside whether they want to do it as a hobby for fun or professionally.

Inspiring others is what also inspires me to keep going. It’s a beautiful continuous circle.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are so many rewarding aspects of being a creative.

For one, it gives me complete freedom! Freedom to do what I want. To be myself. To explore.

I’ve also learned to really appreciate the internal struggle that goes along with this journey. While there is a lot of joy and freedom in it, it also takes a lot of work. It takes discipline. Practice. Letting go of something that you like to make it better. Trying something different. Trying something new. Taking risks. Staying authentic. Being able to critique your work and admitting when it’s crap. Being ok with failure and moving forward. Putting yourself out there and showing your work with the world. Being confident and comfortable with it and not letting the opinions of others deter you. And sometimes even seeing some truth of yourself that comes to the surface.

There’s a lot of wonderful life lessons learned in those struggles of the artistic process not to mention the resilience that it builds. That drives me.

Making art, writing, teaching yoga and trying new things (like skateboarding) are what give me a great sense of purpose and meaning. Nothing feels more rewarding when a painting has touched something within someone and they buy it, or when somebody tells me that my message spoke to them, or that my skateboarding encouraged them to try something new. It fills me up with gratitude and love and gives me the fuel to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jenniharmon.com/
• Instagram: @jenni_harmon_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenni.harmon.3/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-harmon-a4621b95/

Image Credits
Credits for art related photos: JuJu Social Photography Skateboarding: my husband :)