behind the art

change of pace

2012-09-10T23:26:00.000-04:00

when i first started showing my art, it is safe to say that i was all over the place - i used different mediums and i painted different subjects. i made a decision last year to reel myself in, to be more uniform, and to be true to who i am as an artist. the motivators for that decision were both professional and personal. aesthetically, i do think it looks better for there to be consistency in my art. plus i felt i often "sold out" as an artist and tried to make art that did not always reflect who i am.

and while i still stand behind my decision, i realized recently that i also gave up some things. i tend to be VERY purposeful in my art. painting myself into a "box" so to speak (ironic, since my whole shtick is to live outside the box), i have denied myself the ability to have fun and explore new things. i was trying so hard to develop "my style" that i in turn shut down a part of who i am (at least artistically speaking).

i was recently commissioned to paint a piece as a company gift. and the truth of the matter is, they chose me because they like "my style," not my subject matter. but this new job gave me an opportunity to do something different. it was a nice change of pace to take a break from my usual subject matter. and it has been a reminder that while i need art as a voice to express myself, my voice does not always have to be so deep - i can also play and have fun too.

jennifer e humphrey | mixed media artist

outside the box studios | art for the rest of us
website : www.outsidetheboxstudios.net
twitter : @otbstudios
facebook : facebook.com/otbstudios

the art of living

2012-09-04T23:09:00.002-04:00

i was recently reminded how big of a role creativity has played in my life. i'm an introvert by nature. as an adult, i maintain few, but incredibly meaningful relationships. but as a child, i did not have many friends; and during the summer months, i had no one to spend time with. i learned how to use the alone time to create intricate fantasies in my head - a skill i have carried into adulthood. have you ever been rescued from a burning building by Arnold Schwarzenegger? i have. i've flown over cities with superman and fought crime with batman. i've walked the streets of paris and had dinner with royalty (that prince harry is something...) without ever having left the comfort of my own living room.

as a child i used these fantasies to my advantage - they were a means of escape from situations my developing mind was not ready to tackle. and i honestly believe today that they helped save my life. and the creativity i learned/developed back then has become my way to connect with others today. through my art i am able to share parts of my past. it allows me to express sadness that i otherwise could not bare to release.

and i have learned over the years of showing/selling my art, that there are so many others like me. maybe they don't have internal conversations with oprah or imagine that they are contestants on dancing with the stars, but they have wounds and scars and pain and a history that is unshared with the world. and through art, these people and i have connected.

art helped me to survive the past and it gives me a voice today. and i am not alone.

jennifer e humphrey | mixed media artist

outside the box studios | art for the rest of us

website : www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

twitter : @otbstudios

facebook : facebook.com/otbstudios

be yourself

2012-06-10T19:47:00.001-04:00

with society and the media constantly telling us how to look, dress, feel, etc, it is easy to get caught up trying to be something we aren't. i honestly believe the world would be a more colorful place if we were just ourselves. so here's to letting our freak flags fly ;)

jennifer e humphrey | mixed media artist

outside the box studios | art for the rest of us

website : www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

twitter : @otbstudios

facebook : facebook.com/otbstudios

art for the rest of us

2012-06-03T22:31:00.000-04:00

i have pretty much used this slogan since i started selling my work to the public in 2007. i've never really taken the time to explain what it means and no where on my site does anything tie into it, really. tonight i'd like to take a few minutes to do just that.

i actually get a lot of criticism from people in the "art world" about my art. it has been described as childish, cheap, and i have been judged for putting out the inspirations for each piece.

the irony is that the things i get "judged" for are the same things i am intentionally doing.

my art is childish- it is true i have limitations on what i can paint. can i paint a landscape? yes. can i paint a picturesque nude model? no. technicality is not my goal. my goal is to share my emotions and connect with people. i believe i can get my message across better in simplicity than in an overly complicated piece.
my art is cheap - i use what i believe to be quality materials. and since i do want to make a living at this, i have to be able to make a profit. but i do purposely set my prices low because it is important to me to make my art affordable for the people who connect with it. i collect other artists' work. and the two things that are important to me when considering a purchase are: is it affordable? and is it meaningful?
my art over-explains - there are a lot of people in the art world who hate that i place the inspirations with my art. my art professors used to tell me how art illiterate americans are. i think this has only helped to create an attitude in the art world where artists are taught to elevate themselves above the people who view their work. i don't buy into that line of thinking. how can i expect a person to know what was going on inside my head when i sat down to paint a piece? my art is my voice - it is how i connect with people. and it is my pleasure to share my inspirations - for me, that is the most therapeutic part of making art.

so there ya have it. art for the rest of us.

jennifer e humphrey | mixed media artist

outside the box studios | art for the rest of us
website : www.outsidetheboxstudios.net
twitter : @otbstudios
facebook : facebook.com/otbstudios

reach for the sky

2012-04-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

this piece is about getting out of my comfort zone. it's scary to take chances and try new things. but if i never test my limits, how will i know what they are?

jennifer e humphrey | mixed media artist

outside the box studios | art for the rest of us
website : www.outsidetheboxstudios.net
twitter : @otbstudios
facebook : facebook.com/otbstudios

tomorrow

2012-04-01T19:58:00.000-04:00

i'm a believer that when faced with hard times, i should look forward to the good that will follow. and...so... - the sun WILL come out tomorrow.

jennifer e humphrey | mixed media artist

outside the box studios | art for the rest of us
website : www.outsidetheboxstudios.net
twitter : @otbstudios
facebook : facebook.com/otbstudios

self promotion - it's time to build

2012-02-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

i write about this a lot. more than anything, i want to make a living as an artist. and at times i have come to a place of acceptance that i just am never going to be able to do that. then yesterday in a session with my dear therapist, she made a comment that i light up when i talk about my art. in replaying our session in my head, i couldn't help but linger on her comment. i light up because it makes me happy. my "day job" sucks and i hate it. there are a dozen reasons to hate it, but the most important is that it is not my passion.

it's hard work and sometimes painful, but i can't expect to make a living as an artist if i don't put it out there. so it's time to take some risks and make some changes. and no matter what the outcome, i will know that i am pursuing my dream and trying my best to follow my passion.

jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

year of the egg

2012-01-29T18:35:00.001-05:00

i have been in a hiatus for the last 6 months or so. my day job announced lay offs in feb 2010 and moved most of the positions across the US to denver, co. i went out there for a while. but a permanent move meant that my partner had to leave a job she loves and i would have to end therapy with an amazing therapist. i couldn't stand the thought of either of those things. so i left the job and moved back home to atlanta. 2011 had a lot of ups and downs financially. there were a few high points, but mostly we scraped to get by. i am very lucky to have a small but incredibly loving support group that saw me (us) through the tougher times. in an effort to save money, i turned my website off for about 5 months. today i am in a decent enough financial position to reactivate my account.

so outside the box studios has relaunched!

i struggle wondering often what i should do with myself as a career. it is an on going internal battle i have. at the end of the day what i love is to be creative and productive. i always worry that i am not talented enough to make a living as an artist. and though that may or may not be a reality, i believe that way of thinking holds me back.

so this year is not about trying to make it as an artist. it is about BEING an artist. it is about letting myself create and be expressive.

and since my main theme has to do with eggs, it seems appropriate for this year to be the year of the egg. a year of rebirth. not rebirth of a website (though i am extremely excited to see my art on the web again), but rebirth as an artist. i look forward to what the year of the egg has in store. and if at the end of the year i am still not sure just what it is that i am suppose to do for a career, i will at least know one thing for sure-i AM an artist and i spent the year letting everyone know it!

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

art write ups

2011-06-23T15:58:00.000-04:00

well, it has been a long time coming, but i finally have an official write up for each piece of art painted on metal. i will continue to provide online descriptions as i add new pieces.

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

kirkwood spring fling

2011-05-15T09:42:00.001-04:00

despite the threat of rain, lots of folks came out to the show! it turned out to be a great day with cool music and arts/crafts. thanks to all the people that gave the art below new homes!

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

recently purchased 05.03.11

2011-05-03T17:24:00.000-04:00

Thank you to the people that gave the below pieces new homes!

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net
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best show yet

2011-05-01T20:49:00.003-04:00

i have been out of the open air market business for about two years. i had a lot of fears about this market. druid hills artist market was pretty small and had very little traffic, plus it was competing with inman park, but i did incredibly well. the best i have ever done at a show. i put a lot of myself into my art, and it is difficult to put it out for others to judge. i am so grateful to the people that like (and buy) it.

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

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druid hills artist market

2011-04-30T21:49:00.003-04:00

this has been my first market in 2 years. and i am so very glad it has been a success. it has been a real boost to my ego. Thanks to all who visited the booth and to those who made purchases!

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

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blue bird / blue egg

2011-04-17T09:56:00.005-04:00

i am not sure if this piece has just grown on me because i have been staring at it for weeks or if it is something deeper. but i really like this one. i have had some experiences with depression (both with myself and loved one) - i think we all go through blue periods (though some more than others, it seems). i know in my experiences when i fall into sad places, it seems everything around me is blue too, but in time, bits of color show through. i think that is what i like about this one.

the blue egg is an adaptation of an earlier piece. i am very fond of it too.

~jennifer e humphrey
www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

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outcast

2011-02-03T15:48:00.005-05:00

i feel different most of the time as is, but living away from the city, you lose a lot of diversity. so for someone that already feels different, it seems to be magnified.

~jennifer e humphrey

http://www.outsidetheboxstudios.net/

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dream with in a dream

2011-01-26T21:32:00.005-05:00

dream with in a dream - my family was messed up. i mean messed up. but no matt...er what, we always put on a good front for the public. this is kind of a representation of that. perfect family portrait that doesn't highlight the dysfunction or abuse.

~jennifer e humphrey
http://www.outsidetheboxstudios.net/

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weight of the world

2011-01-23T20:13:00.005-05:00

this sums up the last year for me. in a few weeks it will be the one year anniversary of when my "day job" announced the lay offs. between my dykeness and desire to caretake, it has been really hard to face the reality that i cannot afford to give my family what they need sometimes. and de...spite the fact that we experimented with me moving with the company across country, it wasn't right for us. and since then i have been offered an opportunity to essentially start my own business. which has me at ground zero struggling to make it work. and though i think in the end all will work out, right now i truly feel as if i am carrying the weight of the world. like if this fails, i am a failure and have let my family down. it's a lot to carry around.

~jennifer e humphrey

http://www.outsidetheboxstudios.net/

new art from 5/11-5/14

2009-05-14T10:45:00.019-04:00

these are the pieces I made this week. I suppose they are all different and yet the same, too. this week’s biggest inspirations: my partner of (soon to be) 5 years who I am madly in love with, my therapist of three years (also deeply love), and my art would not be my art if i did not have some type of childhood trauma tossed in. a lot of this was experimenting. i have a feeling a great majority will end up in the clearance bin next year. :) what are ya gonna do???

follow the leader

close up of a baby bird in follow the leader

a caged bird sings

it's a bad photo. it's not a great piece either. meaning is good, just didn't do a good job at getting it out.

amour

free bird

new version of broken

mother's love

new version of broken

this was suppose to be a cute, colorful piece. i obviously got off track. must have some repressed childhood memories about killer robots.

~jennifer e humphrey

http://www.outsidetheboxstudios.net/

the prayer

2009-05-10T22:30:00.007-04:00

recently, i came across a "prayer" i must have written down years ago in one of my meditation books: help me walk away from what is comfortable and known into what is unknown and unpredictable. my guess is that this was either in reference to a past unhealthy relationship i was really struggling to get out of or the desire to break the pattern of getting into incredibly unhealthy relationships. i honestly do not know which. but in either case, sometimes i find myself in circumstances that i am unhappy with, but because i am so used to it, i stay exactly where i am. so that is what this piece is about-following through with the desire to break some cycle.

safe in my own prison

2009-05-07T10:27:00.001-04:00

i have a tendency to put up a lot of boundaries to keep people at a distance. in many ways, it is a good thing. it allows me to time to figure out if i can trust people, which saves me a lot of heartache. though, by trying to control things so much, i probably miss out on a lot too. also, by keeping myself so guarded, i don't always allow my true personality to be seen often. sometimes being safe in my own prison makes me nothing more than a prisoner.

~jennifer e. humphrey

www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

i think these sum up my life....

2009-04-24T11:00:00.004-04:00

i'll finish it later, too

Façade series continues

2009-04-19T19:02:00.003-04:00

this one is actually going to a silent auction for a local group, but i'd like to show it nonetheless. personally i prefer the aesthetics of a single egg, but having several eggs next to each other has more meaning (to me). the point is that many of us try to be what we are told, but that we are all individuals.

taking it to the streets with the layman group

2009-04-11T21:52:00.011-04:00

since i have started my art career journey, my goal was always to get into a gallery. once i got the opportunity, i was ecstatic. but i quickly found the "goal" wasn't quite what it was cracked up to be. i thought somehow it would confirm me as an artist, but instead i felt less than and bad about myself.

I've done much thinking since about who i am as an artist and what direction i want to take. when given the opportunity to do a little work with the layman group, a grass roots non profit org, i jumped at the chance.

all i had to do was paint a canvas on the side of street in front of passers by. i was really anxious and worried. i kept thinking what if i don't get it right? i almost made myself sick worrying about it.

then when i got there and got to painting, the anxiety started to go away. i just went with it. and the truth is nothing i painted was a masterpiece. but i didn't care. i was painting. it wasn't about right or wrong. it was about being vulnerable in that moment. to be able to say, "yes, i paint, and though you my not like the finished product, i am happy doing what i do." today i feel like an artist-that is a good feeling.

to learn more about the layman group, visit http://www.thelaymangroup.org/

~jennifer e humphrey

http://www.outsidetheboxstudios.net/

first window display

2009-04-09T22:12:00.009-04:00

donna van gogh's
atlanta, ga

~jennifer e humphrey

www.outsidetheboxstudios.net

grover...

2009-04-08T22:01:00.000-04:00