We recently connected with Gina Cohen and have shared our conversation below.

Gina , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

20 yrs ago, I was introduced to someone who gave me a chance as an artist and single handedly changed the course of my life.

I was an art student at Florida State University who loved to sculpt the figure but couldn’t find teachers on the college level who would support my passion. I felt like I had no choice but to abandon art and move on to nursing. The pottery teacher at the school encouraged me to take Bob Bischoff’s Master Craftsman course. From there, Bob introduced me to an extremely talented, successful and kind artist Edward Jonas. Here I was, thinking that working as an artist was an impossible dream, and then I stepped into his studio which was nothing short of incredible. Meeting Ed felt like finding an artistic oasis in a desert. I remember driving home from his studio feeling such a buzz of inspiration, it was palpable. He gave me the gift of an apprenticeship sharing his wealth of knowledge as a working artist with me and giving me the resources and encouragement I needed to apply to the New York Academy of Art for my Masters in Sculpture instead of nursing. In the space of a year, I went from “I guess I’m not going to cut it as an artist” to getting accepted to one of the most prestigious graduate programs in the country. Ed also got me involved in the society he and his wife founded, the Portrait Society of America and his wife, Christine Egnoski Jonas gave me a job. The staff and faculty of the PSA have become my art family. I’ve grown up right along with Ed and Christine’s children and secured many precious friendships in the art world. I have volunteered for their annual conference every year since. Ed passed away unexpectedly in 2020.

The wake of his loss still runs wide. I’m eternally grateful that his generosity with his knowledge allowed me to stay an artist and to the path of my dream career. The knowledge he shared with me motivates me to pursue sharing my expertise in Anaplastology with others as I move on to this next chapter in my career.

“There are two groups of people who will never forget you, even long after you are gone — your family and those with whom you have taken the time to share your knowledge”
– Edward Jonas, September 17, 1948 – June 12, 2020

Gina , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After completing my apprenticeship with Ed Jonas, I was off to The New York Academy of Art for Grad school. It was everything I’d hoped for and more.

In my last semester, I found a flyer about a two year on the job training program at Columbia Presbyterian and the Bronx VA for facial Prosthetics. They were looking with someone with a medical background and a Master’s Degree in art and only accepted two applicants biennially. I jumped at the chance and found my career. Once I completed the program, in 2008, I moved to California to join a private practice as an Anaplastologist, sculpting and painting realistic facial features and limbs for amputees. In 2015, I became one of 40 Clinically Certified Anaplastologists in the world. Today, I serve as a Director on the Board of Directors for Clinical Certification in Anaplastology. I work independently in Los Angeles, Ca.
As an Anaplastologist, I get to design, fit, sculpt and paint realistic ears, noses, fingers, hands, partial hands, arms, legs feet partial feet and toes. I specialize in creating the most hyper-realistic prostheses that best incorporate form, fit and function. I value my clients as a critical part of the process and want them to truly feel restored and confident. Many people don’t know this field exists and many amputees spend years hiding from the public because they don’t want others to know about their physical loss or differences. I want to empower my clients to share their stories if they want to but keep them private when they don’t feel like being questioned by strangers. Yet the vast majority of amputees aren’t given the option because insurances won’t pay for realistic work and the standard of care insurance will pay for is far too low. A patient missing a nose or an ear is almost always denied by insurance due to these facial features being deemed as “cosmetic”. Amputees are denied limbs that look realistic as well citing them under, “not medically necessary”. This is archaic and patently incorrect as it has become clear that honoring mental health is essential. Living as an amputee is extremely emotionally taxing. If a patient wants to maintain their privacy with a realistic prosthesis to avoid enduring the stares and having to relive their stories daily, they deserve that peace.
I’m proud to take the time to make my work as good as possible. I know I can create the calibur of work that amputees deserve. My hope is to spread awareness about the field through social media so that the general population can help to create the expectation that amputees to receive full insurance coverage to get the prostheses that best meet their needs. This includes veterans, who are entitled to fully realistic prostheses completely free but are rarely made aware of this fact by Veterans Hospitals.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Outside of a solid background in figurative art and color theory, an Anaplastologist must be dedicated to people. This field is about making people feel whole. It is essential to demonstrate empathy, sincerity, flexibility, keen observation and patience with patients.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I have five children ages 12, 10, 7, 7 and 5. My biggest pivot aside from motherhood was becoming a foster parent. I have been incredibly blessed to adopt three of my children. My time as a foster parent has shown me how so much light can emerge from such darkness and pain in the world. It has shown me how trauma can affect people through and through and helped me to better understand my patients and the world in general. I’m enjoying watching my children grow. I hope that anyone reading this who has an open heart to fostering will join me in this worthy “pivot” put away the “someday”, insist on getting “too attached” and know there isn’t a fragment of a chance that raising a child each and every day could ever be superceded by biology.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/s0rreal
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/s0.rreal?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/me?trk=p_mwlite_feed_updates-secondary_nav
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@s0rreal?_t=8fpBRHIjQza&_r=1

Image Credits
Image Credits Gina Cohen