We recently connected with Jenna Michele and have shared our conversation below.
Jenna , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
This was not an easy thing. I grew up with the worst confidence and self esteem you could imagine. I was told as a young child that I was fat, ugly and that no one would ever love me because I had a bad attitude and that stuck with me for about 22 years. I noticed that I was trying to full the void in myself with people that just used and abused me. It wasn’t until after I discovered mirror work did I really begin truely love and care for myself. I am 32 years old now and I can say so thankfully that I am in love with every part of myself. I love how I learn, how I work, how I fail and how I push through my failure. Had it not been for mirror work I would have never seen the beauty in a collapsed clay piece. I would have never seen the unique and artist energy it brings to the world.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
To put in simply, I play with clay. I squish it, mold it, drop it, throw it, smell it and of course make things with it. The most exciting thing about clay is that the only thing that will limit you is YOU. You can create the most amazing things with clay. I think thats my favorite part really; turning this ball of dirt and water into this one of a kind piece of art that could potentially last forever. Like a sort of artistic legacy I suppose.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Every single job I have ever had had prepared me for being a full time ceramic artist. Being a greeter at a retail store at 19 to selling cars at 27 have all prepared me for this. Whether I liked the job or not they have given me something I can use and in the same sense something I never want to use. For example, I don’t believe in selling things just to sell them. When I sold cars I would only recommend coverages that would help the customer and never anything that I did not believe they needed.. which is not the car salesman way. So for me I believe my strongest quality is my compassion, personability, and my drive to create.
The only advice I can give is, you have to want it. There is no shortcut, you have to do the work. It’s as simple as that.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The number one challenge for me is always networking. You have to post everyday, you have to make reels, you need to create relatable content.. it is very exhausting. Honestly. I just do the best I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.photojenicart.co
- Instagram: Instagram.com/photojenicart
