We recently connected with Jennifer Forrest and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
One of the most crucial things for me is to get out into nature as much as possible. Seeing the world as it is and the ways in which it continues to change is what gives me creative energy. It is my muse, if you will, not to sound too corny. But I take daily walks along the water in my neighborhood, rummage through old family photos, and travel as much as possible.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve been focused intensely on my art for the past few years, focusing on the natural world and our place in it as it continues to change and shift. I love representing my view of these permutations and comparing and contrasting my own viewpoint with others. Much in the way that Monet painted his Water Lilies over the course of time, there is such an amazing canvas just out our window that is ever changing as we change with it. To me, this is what makes it such an exciting and important time to be an artist.
Recently, I have been showing my work in galleries in person, which has been great. And I continue to sell my paintings as well as prints on my website. So far the response has been fantastic!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Because of the zigzag nature of my studies and life, I’ve been able to use different mediums and palettes and canvasses. I can use traditional paints, of course, but I can also use buttercream and sugar due to my pastry career.
When it comes to designing anything I can always turn to my career in events to use by seeing the whole picture. These disparate threads of my life converge to push my creativity forward.
This also leads to into my annoying specificity, which is a quality that can be deemed good or bad by others, but it does cause my to think (and sometimes overthink) whatever work I’ve created.
My advice to others on their journey to self-actualizing their true artistic selves is to continue to open yourself up to other forms of creation and to allow yourself time to learn about the world and other arts. Maybe you won’t notice it immediately, but perhaps that book or movie or TV show will open an entire world to you later on down the road when you sit down to make something. Or perhaps it will be a walk in the woods or on the beach or a dive into the ocean. Everything you do can be a branch on the tree of creativity.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I was very lucky to have parents that supported and championed all of my interests growing up and I could not be more grateful for that. It’s very important for parents to encourage their children’s individual passions and to life them up when they fail or change interests. Take it from me, a person who has been in fashion, pastry, and event planning on my road to becoming the artist I am – and perhaps always was. If it weren’t for my parents saying, “you should do that” every time I decided I wanted to molt into the next version of what I wanted to do, then I don’t know where I would be. But I know I wouldn’t be happy. So thanks mom and dad!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jenniferforrestart.com
- Instagram: @jennifer.forrest.art
- Other: tiktik: @jenniferforrestart
