Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Thurston.
Hi Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Hi there! I’m Jen… also, Miss Jen, Mrs. Thurston and Mom. I began teaching art 25 years ago and continue teaching grades 5-8 at a public middle school today. Most days inside a middle school can turn upside down, sideways, backwards and inside out! You have to go with the flow and always expect things to shift. I have also been an art instructor for the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood, Ohio, for Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland, and summer art therapy camps in Elyria and Lorain. I love creating art with others, especially kids. Their souls are still open to possibilities and their imaginations are so vibrant. As we grow up, the world pulls us in so many directions and our light can get dimmed, our souls get distracted. Creating is a way to find that light again, to turn off the world and just dream a little. In 2020, I felt like the world had been turned upside down. I needed to engage my students long distance and keep my own kids, and myself, from feeling the weight of the world. We did art lessons at home together and posted our videos online for my students. This was the beginning of Upside Down Art Studio. The world may be back to “normal” now, but I think we all still feel upside down, for many different reasons. I had felt a calling, for many decades, to create a space devoted to making art that I could share with others. A door opened three years ago, and I went with the flow and opened up a modest little studio down by the Huron lighthouse pier. There was definitely a need for this kind of space in our community, and in surrounding the communities, and most of my sessions filled up quickly each month. The studio just moved into a larger space in October this year, on Main Street in Huron, and I am so grateful for the kindness from every soul who has created with us, every parent who has supported their child’s creativie spirit, and the community who values the arts. Upside Down Art Studio is a space for all ages and abilities to take a pause and stretch their creative souls. I believe that the creative process is a path to wellness and understanding. ☺️🎨🩵
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I got the keys to the first space two months before my 50th birthday. It was definitely a milestone for me. On a whim, on one freezing, snowy afternoon in January, my daughter and I drove by a spot by the pier where there used to be an art gallery and framing shop. She knew I wanted to open a place some day and she had started scoping out places. I told her let’s drive down to the pier. Low and behold that day there was a “For Rent” sign in front of that building. It was a sign, a literal sign! I parked there and called from the van, I signed a lease that weekend and the first summer camps began that summer. It was honestly a no brainer. Everything went so smoothly. I truly believe when it’s your door, it will open, and when it doesn’t open, that’s just not your door. I think life gets clearer when you realize this. I was honestly surprised how quickly the sessions filled. That first little studio was the sweetest, cozy spot to start out. The owners and the others in the building were so kind and supportive, really good souls. It became apparent very quickly, however, that we needed more elbow room to create and more room for supplies and projects. The same scenario played out when we found the new space. My daughter and I were driving through town one day. I had seen a “For Rent” sign in the windows of a place I drove by daily and thought how quaint it was. So, we parked in front of the space, called from the van again, and within a few weeks were moving in. The owners have been so gracious and kind, more souls are walking through the new door, and it makes my creative heart happy. I still continue to teach full time at the middle school during the day, and teach at the studio after school several days a week plus host private group sessions and birthdays on the weekends. I am a mom to three teens so I do have quite a bit to balance, but I feel so blessed to have so much on my plate.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My degrees are in fine art, liberal studies and education. I majored in painting and also studied psychology, sociology and philosophy. I teach all areas of art, primarily painting, watercolor, clay and crafts with a focus on nature and personal wellness. I believe that creating is a way of knowing… a way of understanding our world, our creator, our humanity and our soul. I am both visually and emotionally inspired by the elements of nature, especially water, wood and sand. I enjoy collecting shells, stones, sea glass, buttons and other natural and human objects to incorporate into works of art. I am drawn to common connections across our diverse human cultures and our innate spiritual connection to the water, the earth, and each other . Themes that reoccur in my own artwork include reflection, seasons, cycles, the natural and the supernatural, reality and the subconscious. I am obsessed with textures, neutral earth tones and the calming colors of sea and sky. Upside Down Art Studio is not another “drink and paint” place. Those are fun and I’ve done many and always enjoyed them! This studio is intended to be a space where you find your creative clan and yourself through the process of making something with your hands and heart. All the other stuff can wait. It’s a time to pause, breathe and create!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe that the choice to not pursue something that is on your heart is the biggest risk of all. I decided at age 50 that this idea was not going away and that I owed it to myself to at least try and fail, then to risk wondering “what if” any longer. I’ve come to believe that the urge inside of us to do something is a calling and when you knock on the right door it opens. But if you never knock, it’s never going to open. And how sad is that? To think there is a door meant for you and you never had the courage to just knock? We have been conditioned to believe all our lives follow a certain timeline. But I think everyone’s time is their own. If you are still on this planet, you still have things you are meant to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Upsidedownartstudio.com
- Instagram: Upside Down Art Studio, LLC
- Facebook: Upside Down Art Studio, LLC
