Conversations with Jessica Blankenship

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Blankenship

Hi Jessica, 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?
As a full-time art teacher, I have been directing my own art camps every summer since 2009. These camps have always been my favorite events! After years of thinking about it, I decided to start my own business, called The Artful Gathering, so that I could host more than just summer art camps. I opened a brick and mortar location in New Richmond, OH in September of 2022. After about a year and half in that location, I knew that Bethel was where I needed to move the business. I have now been in my Bethel location for one year! It has been amazing and growth has been steady!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. I continue to work full time and am balancing a lot. Learning how to build a website, how to market, how to automate, how to send an email to a list, and all the other things have been heavy.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a full-time art teacher in the Bethel-Tate local schools. My business is The Artful Gathering, llc, where I host art camps, art classes, events and workshops. I am trying to figure out how to create my own art along the way, besides the obvious creative endeavor of the business itself. In college, I focused on landscape oil paintings and have an obsession with children’s book art. I hope to illustrate and publish my own series of children’s books one day.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Just because people don’t understand my mission, that doesn’t mean they aren’t cheering me on. I have to remind myself of this often.

Pricing:

• Art camps: $40-$90
• Art workshops: $35-$55

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theartfulgathering.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheARTFULgathering