Jennifer James

The journey to becoming an art therapist for Jennifer has been a long one. Since the very beginning, Jennifer knew that she wanted to be an artist and would claim that is what she wanted to be when she grew up. Throughout her formative years, Jennifer used art as a way to express herself, process her emotions, and to combat the depression she has experienced most of her life. She has personally experienced the healing power of art, and extensively used it for self-care and emotional regulation.

It was not until Jennifer began her own studio called James 222 Studios that she realized that the way that she approaches art and teaches others to engage with it was different than those that offered art classes. Many would come wanting to learn how to draw or paint, and end up in tears processing through memories and emotions that came up through the art. It was then that Jennifer decided that she needed to be equipped to help people heal through their art and connect to a deeper understanding of their identity and what their art was telling them.

Jennifer knew she on the right path when she was accepted to the program on 2/22/17 and was assigned to stay in Room 222 at Le Fer Hall at her first residency on campus, and the gas to get from Iowa to Indiana was $2.22 a gallon.

The artwork curated for this show focuses on identity development as Jennifer progressed through her graduate studies. There has been a significant amount of unraveling that has occurred for Jennifer over this three-and-a-half-year journey. Through the course work, and the amount of art that was created over this amount of time, Jennifer has learned a lot about herself and utilized her personal therapy to dig deeper into the change and transformation that has occurred. The work that was chosen for this exhibit are excerpts from her personal art journal, self-portraits, grief, trauma, and parts work. Jennifer is comfortable with a wide variety of materials from pastels, pencil, colored pencils, collage, mixed media, and painting. Accompanied with her artwork is some writing for each piece.

Jennifer utilizes a trauma-informed approach, engaging and utilizing the senses and experiences that are coming up in the body as the art is created. Jennifer is interested in narrative theory and the power of giving voice and expression to the stories that are often stored and exiled within individuals. Learning how to listen and experience these powerful emotions, and remembering the experiences that are attached to them, it is often helpful for Jennifer to engage in highly controlled materials like pencils and focus on likeness and details to help herself to stay grounded and not flooded by trauma responses and the nervous system being overwhelmed and cause her to dissociate. This creates emotionally charged detailed work that draws the viewer into the narrative that is being expressed.