Hi, I’m Jen and here are Seven of my Elements:
• Joy. Spend a bit of time with me and you will experience the laugh so loud it’s gotten me asked to leave the library – more than once!
• Curiosity. My childlike curiosity for the world led me to to a lifetime of people watching and informs my career as a portrait artist. In wonder of discovery is where I chose to live daily.
• Mama. I am a mama in love with my daughter. I could talk all day about all I have learned from her, and how our relationship inspires me to live more truthfully, and blaze a trail she would be proud to walk on.
• Curvy. I deeply delight in all five feet of my body’s curves. (And no, it wasn’t always this way!)
• Alchemy. The magic in my life is constant and amazing. By connecting into the sense of purpose that serendipity and spirituality provide, all my elements have become stronger and more visible.
• Empathy. My life experiences and empathic abilities make it easy for me to hold space for others and their stories. I take time to honor and appreciate this ability, even when it isn’t the easiest element to embrace.
• Tenacity. I am powerful in many ways. My story contains traumas that I honor as what helped create who I am now. I use my story to help others heal and grow as well. For years this was a hidden element of mine, but now I celebrate it.
These seven Elements help me identify the core themes I embody on a daily basis – but they shift and change, and I honor my own fluidity each time I name and celebrate them. In this course, you’ll have an opportunity to identify and honor seven of YOUR Elements in ways that are just as wonderful and unique as you are.
What do I do when I’m not connecting women back to themselves?
• I relish my quiet mornings, with cup of tea – hot, black, with a spoonful of sugar – in hand, When weather allows, I walk barefoot to my favorite spot on the Eastern Promenade and weave intentions together while watching Casco Bay wave back at me.
• Adventures, of any kind, with my daughter Charlie. This past year has taken us to the Bahamas, the Catskills, Toronto, the Grand Canyon, and a Taylor Swift concert in Philadelphia, but we’re also quite happy to be tourists in our own backyard. Maine is Vacationland for a reason!
• Singing makes me especially happy. So I try and do it a lot. I performed on stage with my dear friend Megan Jo at her Rockstar camp in the spring of 2019. (I sang Katy Perry’s “Firework” in a gold sequined dress.) It was terrifying and delightful and it gave me the courage to join a band, which was a lifelong dream of mine!
• Walking Portland and eating and drinking along the way. (Silly’s is my favorite place to stop for a slice of cake. The pho at Saigon can’t be beat. And I’ll never say no to a Smoke & Roses from Pai Men!
• Reading a good book. Recent favorites include: The Last True Poets of the Sea, You are A Badass at Making Money, and Travels with Charlie
• Talking with friends. So much talking. (:
• Helping make the world a better place one moment at a time.
• Searching out others with a quick wit and a desire to drink life to the fullest.
What inspired Ingenious Alchemy?
After spending over 20 years in portrait work, I longed to tell women’s stories at a new level.
I created The Gardenia Project, a podcast that adds voice to the portraits of women I create. I personally witnessed the way we all carry stories within us, and those stories inform who we are and how we move through the world. The podcast quickly grew a fanbase and now has a waitlist for interviewees to be featured. But still, I was called again, being sure there was work I could be doing to help more women become embodied in a new and more profound way.
By using my lens as a mirror, I am able to represent clients in how they see themselves, when they are at their best and brightest.
Ingenious Alchemy is an extension of this work.
Why did I create the “Your Genius, Visible” Course?
Often, clients would come to me ready – but apprehensive about – having their photo taken. Women especially hold universal truths about themselves. And those truths aren’t often kind. Underlying whispers about worth, and beauty, and value that undermine the innate power and poise we are all born with.
I spend time with my clients to begin to undo these shadowy whispers, and to rewire the cultural programming that harshly states: “You are not enough.” By carefully creating a container for this work to be done in a supported way, I knew that I could facilitate change that would allow for a lasting impact, both for the individual and for the world.