Jennifer Lee is the Owner, Artiste at Jenndalyn, Jennifer describes herself and her art:My name is Jenn and I have been making art since I was able to hold a crayon. I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2006 with degrees in Fine Art and History of Art. In September of 2012, I quit my office job to pursue my true love: art.
Relentless Pursuit of A Dream
Like the artwork that comes out of it, the story behind Jenndalyn Art is a colorful one.
After bartending for a few years after college, I took a 9-5 office job back in 2010. I had heard of Etsy through a college friend who sold amazing altered clothing. I decided to list a few originals without any idea what I was doing. My photos were terrible and if someone ever actually ordered something, I had no idea how to get it to them.
After a couple months of only half paying attention to my shop, I decided to take the items down and felt silly for thinking someone would actually like them. My art is pretty busy/bright/colorful explosion in your face/etc. All throughout college my professors would tell me to "tone it down" and that "less is more." After getting very little reaction to my work on Etsy, I really started doubting my abilities.
I would still cruise Etsy from time to time because I love seeing how much talent is out there (there's A LOT!). In July of 2011, I had been at my desk job for a little over a year and had grown completely miserable. There was zero reward and I was constantly feeling like I wasn't working hard enough/efficient enough/diligently enough. It was a terrible feeling.
That month, I happened across the "Quit Your Day Job" articles; I'd never heard of them before! The first one I read was Mae Chevrette's. I was completely in awe that this incredibly talented artist had a "real job" and left it to pursue her dream of creating things for a living, and that Etsy made it possible.
When i was little, I changed the classic "what do you want to be when you grow up" idea yearly. In 4th grade, we did a project where we drew what we wanted to be and put all of the drawings onto a wall to display. I drew an artist... and was laughed at. My friends told me, "being an artist is not a job." Then in college, I changed my major like five times. Thought my parents would kill me. Then I read that article and it was like 1000 lightbulbs went off. I still wanted to be an artist.
I worked from that day forward for a year, starting a blog, a Flickr site, a Tumblr site, a Facebook page. I really wanted to see if I got a reaction from people, to see if they liked what I did. The first email I got from someone saying they loved my work... I honestly thought it was a cruel joke or spam or something. It was unbelievable. I still exchange emails with that person to this day. The response was amazing, the friends I was acquiring from around the world were inspiring, and I really started to feel like this is what I am meant to do.
I opened my Etsy shop back up on July 29, 2012. Within 30 minutes I had three sales and did that weird cry laugh thing that people do sometimes. July 29 was a Sunday. That following Wednesday, I put in five weeks notice at my job. My last day of work was September 7.
It has definitely been a lot harder than I anticipated and definitely think I had some beginners luck going on, but sales have continued to trickle in. My unwavering faith in what I am doing keeps me going... even when I am microwaving ramen noodle meal #3 for the day. Waking up and knowing that I have the entire day to create things, to fling paint, to feed my Photoshop obsession, to take a day trip and take pictures... it is almost surreal. Everyone should feel this way about what they are doing and know that their dreams are worth a relentless pursuit.
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