Jena’s Gallery of Creative Works

I have a BFA from the University of UMASS Amherst. At UMass, I had a concentration of Photography and Graphic Design. I had some small love affairs on the side with paint, color and video. My thesis was a short video called Comfort Food about a girl that is not in a good relationship. Her boyfriend stands her up and she goes to the grocery store. Instead of taking it out on herself, she trashes his apartment with junk food.
I went on to get my M.Ed.: Instruction and Curriculum from Lesley University. It was a program that focused on the Creative Arts in Education.
I then became a teacher at a Reggio Emilia inspired Early Education Center where I was lucky enough to work in the Studio with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The best job I ever had, besides being a mama, of course. I was able to work side by side with my very wise and all knowing mentors and idols, Cathy Topal and Lella Gandini, full of passion and positivity. A lot of the ideas you see on this blog will come right from our studio experiences.
Currently, I spend lots of time with my little guys, puttering the day away, trying to move through the beginnings of their little lives with as much creativity as possible. And, every once in while I get an alone moment to be creative too. Without my adobe photoshop, illustrator and pagemaker, and without my dark room, I lean on my love of color, paint and digital photography these days.

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