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

Lady, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Having never created anything artistic, I had doubted myself. I always thought real art was something you had to spend years studying, learning techniques, choosing a style and perfecting it. Then I learned that art is freedom, it can be about whatever you want it to be. I learned that some of the greatest art created was that which challenged our preconceived ideas of what art ‘should’ be.

People never saw me as creative, just as a career-woman. How could they when I couldn’t see it myself? I never had anyone suggest, or encourage me to create, to do anything outside of my career. Until my husband. He has a way of seeing things in me that I never knew existed.

I had no formal training, so how could I ever be considered an artist? Had I known that art was something that comes from your soul, perhaps I would have tried earlier in life.

The biggest obstacle was me. My doubts, my belief that no art lived inside of me. Fear even, the fear of people hating my creations.

Having someone encourage me, believe in me. That gave me the courage I needed to create.

I stopped caring what others thought of my paintings and photography. I wasn’t doing it for them, I was doing it for me. For the sheer pleasure of the process.

When I finally let go of worrying about what others may think of my work, I found a freedom that I didn’t know I needed. It’s been a beautiful new dimension to my life.

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 never thought of myself as a creative, I’ve always been a businesswoman. Like so many, I was cooped up at home when the pandemic hit. I had all of this energy that was normally put towards my career, just bottled up with no outlet.

My husband is the one who suggested we start going out for walks at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. That’s when my cemetery wandering started. You couldn’t go to museums, or galleries, or the gym. I needed to keep exercising, to be able to admire art. I started to view cemeteries as places of peace, not death.

I started really admiring the sculptures I would see. These monuments to loved ones long gone were really beautiful. Many just as beautiful as the sculptures in museums.

That’s when I started photographing these headstones and mausoleums. My husband saw something in me that I didn’t,
he encouraged me. He also suggested I take up painting. No, not of the cemeteries, my paintings are completely different. My paintings are not planned, there’s no specific style. My paintings are whatever comes into my mind and flows down through the brush. Painting and photography became my new way of expressing myself.

I started getting imvited to display in shows and galleries. What a natural high that was. Me, someone with no training, getting to experience something so wonderful as being in a gallery!

It helped me to find this hidden part of my soul. A part that I never knew existed.

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

The most rewarding aspect of finding this creative side of myself, is that it’s a way to learn more about who I am. To realize that there are dimensions to myself that I didn’t know existed.

I’m still a career-woman. I have an intense career. But my art and photography has given me a new way to release stress, to be free.

If someone buys my art, that’s just a bonus. I can enjoy it more because it’s not my main source of income. I create when I feel it. No pressure to mass produce. No pressure to please an audience. No fear of critics.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m in my 50s. For most of my adult life I thought I didn’t have a creative side. But, I also didn’t have someone who encouraged me to try. I had to change my mindset. That’s not easy.

I wish I would have known that I was capable of being creative earlier in life. What different path would I have perhaps taken?

I married my husband in my 40s. It’s an amazing thing when two people, who bring out the best in each other, come together. So, in the end, it was worth the wait.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thegstream.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_lady_jeni