We were lucky to catch up with Jenny Nielsen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenny, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

The arts and creative work have always been part of my life. But after earning my undergraduate degree in fine art, I struggled to make the arts more than a hobby for many years. This year, I finally took a huge leap of faith and left my very-secure job in philanthropy to move art and creative work back to the forefront of my life.

Jenny, 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?

I am an artist and creative worker who believes that from individual healing to building community vitality, art has the power to transform lives.

Creating has always been a vital part of my life. I grew up surrounded by a family of makers – my dad is an amazing woodworker and my mom makes wonderful textile art and a variety of crafts. I am primarily a painter but the elements of woodworking, fiber arts, and traditional craft often make their way into my work because of all of my early influences – so I consider myself a mixed-media artist. I sincerely believe that making things must be part of my DNA because there’s no time I feel more at home in my own skin than when I’m creating.

However, after graduating with my degree in Fine Art from West Virginia University, life pulled me in different directions. I struggled to figure out how to make a living as an artist so I continued my education, obtaining a Master’s Degree in Adult and Community Education and going on to work in a variety of capacities in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. And for most of my adult life I’ve had careers that, while very interesting, kept creative practice and art-making pushed to the peripheral parts of my life. The longer I let that go on, the more it seemed to negatively affect my well-being. So, at the beginning of 2024, I took a huge leap of faith and left my very-secure job in philanthropy to move art and creative work back to the forefront of my life.

I began working, on a part-time basis, to provide therapeutic art instruction for a wonderful small nonprofit, Fine Art Miracles. The rest of my time is devoted to, once again, fully diving into my own artistic practice. It has been such a great joy, this process of resurfacing my own artistic voice, and helping others discover theirs.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My years of experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors provided me with knowledge, tools, and resources for how artists can be supported in their work, and an understanding of how artists impact community and economic development, in ways that higher education could not. Now I have the opportunity to weave my passion for the arts together with my professional experience to make a difference in other artists’ and creatives’ lives.

While I currently live and work in Pittsburgh, PA, I also spend a lot of my time in Petersburg, WV – the small town where I grew up, where my parents still live, and where my husband and I will one-day retire. It’s there that I’m working on a project with a collective of artists, in partnership with the local convention and visitors bureau, which aims to embed artists and creative workers in key community spaces as a catalyst for community engagement, arts education, beautification, and economic development. As our inaugural project, we are transforming the second floor space in the visitor center into studios for working artists-in-residence, community and co-working space, a visual art gallery, community arts education, and more! Our project, South Side Studios in Petersburg, WV will be opening in the summer of 2024!

While I sometimes lament the times in my life when creative work was not my primary focus, I am so thankful for the knowledge, skills and relationships I developed during that time. Now I have the opportunity to pull all of the (seemingly disparate) threads together to make something really special, to live fully into my creative dreams – and hopefully inspire and assist others to do the same!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

“Faces and places” – these are the things that inspire me the most and they are recurring themes in my own artwork. I also think these are where we get to see the impact of art the most.

The way art moves individuals and can be read on their faces. And the way art can transform places; contributing to revitalization; helping to create the sense of a beautiful, vibrant, and welcoming area; and providing a distinctive community identity. To be a small part of those huge impacts, that is what is so exciting to me. I find that to be the most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative worker.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jnielsencreative.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennybebop
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnielwil
• Other: Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jnielsencreative/