Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Ghormley.
Hi Jennifer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My background is in photography, and I stumbled into printmaking early in my college years. I went on to pursue my Master’s Degree in Fine Art, and have been living the dream balancing between teaching college-level art classes, community workshops, running my own small business, and finding time to make fine art for traditional gallery shows as well. Oh, and I also get paid to make site-specific art installations as well.
Hard work, discipline, and rigorous goal-setting, sprinkled with a little bit of luck got me to where I am today. I always tell my students, “You gotta make a lot of crap before something good comes out.”
I have taught for numerous higher education institutions and art centers around the Denver/Boulder area. For a few years, I lived and worked in Snowmass at Anderson Ranch Art Center – that was a lot of fun, but not much art was being made. Back in Denver, I have enjoyed artist residencies at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, The Children’s Museum, and Museum of Outdoor Arts.
My approach to Printmaking is non-traditional. Sometimes, I make more traditional editioned prints on regular ol’ Rives BFK, to be framed and hung on the wall. But usually, I print on thin papers, fabric, mylar, or Tyvek, cut those prints into shapes, and sew or attach together somehow, and hang multiple pieces from the ceiling in the creation of site-specific installation artwork.
Currently, I am working on a commission for a site-specific installation in the lobby of a building in Loveland, CO to be hung in February 2022. I am also working on drafting the plans for a large-scale site-specific installation to be hung in the Denver International Airport in the fall of 2022.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road at all, but the bumps and struggles along the way are a necessary part of it all. That 10,000 hours rule is SO TRUE! I have struggled with money (as most people do at some point).
I have struggled with studio space (still riding that struggle bus but I know it will work out somehow, someway, most everything always does). I have struggled with my own confidence or lack thereof. But once you get so busy making and doing, some of that inner dialogue and chatter tends to fade away into the distance.
And then you are left with, “Yes I have, and yes I can.”
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently, my fine artwork is most well-known for the site-specific installations, and that is gaining steam as I type.
Also, I have a small business, Jen G Studios, where I make and sell products to sell at art and craft fairs, and a few shops around town. That too is gaining steam, and 2021 has been a banner year in terms of sales.
I think I am most proud of being able to find creative solutions in order to do things independently. I love pitching in and helping others, but I prefer to remain independent when it comes to my own work. That being said, I am looking for a part-time helper to do some of the simple production work.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
In January 2020, I bought my first house over on the edge of Lakewood. When they closed the gyms, I began biking through my new neighborhood and I LOVE it over here! So many hills, parks, and open spaces, but also conveniences of the city. One thing I like best about Denver greater area is the biking trails.
One thing I like least about the city is how far the homeless problem has gotten out of control.
Contact Info:
- Email: jengstudios@gmail.com
- Website: www.jengstudios.com
- Instagram: @jengstudios
Image Credits:
WM Artist Services (all other images copyright of the artist.)
