Jenna Morello of Brooklyn on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Jenna Morello and have shared our conversation below.

Jenna, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The older I get the more my day shifts into all the hippie health stuff I judged my parents for as a kid. I wake up painfully early. Between 4:45 and 5am. And my morning consists of an increasingly expensive amount of vitamins, a workout and a few miles walking my dog. Sometimes all before the sun is up if i’m on project.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jenna Morello. I’m a multi media artist out of Brooklyn, NY with my current focus being on large scale murals. I’m lucky enough that I get sent around the United States putting art wherever the project requires. Sometimes it’s public art in small towns, other times schools or mural collectives. Probably most notably in the past year, my team and I painted Times Squares current largest free handed mural, which was a pretty wild experience. When I’m not painting or it’s too cold on the East Coast, I’ll do sculpture work. At present I’m working on scaling up to larger pieces in different materials to hopefully install publicly. I prefer to bounce around so I don’t feel like my brain is getting stagnant.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My best friend growing up had a real clear vision of who I would be when I got older. Way before I did. She would always write me notes about how it was going to be when we grew up and how my art would affect people. She knew I’d travel the world, create things on a larger scale, she had all sorts of future perspectives. It’s funny to look back on them because she really mapped out everything, down to living in Brooklyn and adopting a dog. And at the time I was an 11 year old kid from New Jersey. But she saw it so clearly and had such blind faith that it really helped give me an innate confidence that carried me through to adulthood.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I think suffering teaches you what you’re capable of handling. And with that you learn about yourself and how you deal with life in those moments. I really try to not allow any of the difficult moments be for no reason, so I work my hardest to learn from them. Either to not repeat them or to understand the lesson. But I also think sometimes what people think is suffering is just life required growing pains. I read somewhere that if you think of your path like a jellyfish, where it has to contract to expand so you can continue to grow, then you understand you need those moments to shape who you are.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They’d probably say my family, my friends, my animals. My art matters a lot in keeping me busy and balanced. I’m big on integrity and making sure I do a thorough and complete job to the best of my ability. Honesty is super important to me, I won’t tolerate lying or half truths. And also having a good work ethic. My sister makes fun of me for keeping a meticulously clean car, but jealousy will rear its head when you drive around in a vehicle with more plastic bottles than a recycling center.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
When I’m painting I feel the most at peace, but I’d imagine that’s everyone when they get into whatever their “flow state” is. I’ll lose hours, even days to it. If I’m on project, I’ll look up and the month is gone like that. I will say the last few years of my life are probably more peaceful than they’ve ever been. Ive worked hard at being selective of the energy I keep around me and it’s payed off into a life that’s pretty blessed.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All pictures were taken by me

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?

Coffee? Workouts? Hitting the snooze button 14 times? Everyone has their morning ritual and we

Highlighter Series
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we

Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than