Jen Ellsworth

 

I have been sketching since I could hold a pencil but it wasn't till I met Shaun (my main squeeze) that I found the creativity to make something 3D. It all started in 2006 when he took me to a junk yard. There was a transmission lying in one of the ails.  Curious to know what was inside, I took a wrench to it and found a bounty of small gears. seeing the gears gave me the idea to turn them into flowers.  So I brought them home and fabricated up a couple stems,leafs, a base and voila, my first art piece as a metal artist was born.  

 

I soon started making metal art as gifts for my friends and family.  Everyone really loved what I was doing and encouraged me to do more and more till one day I thought I should go out and try to get some of my things in an art gallery.  

 

Long house studios in Oregon City was the first gallery I belonged to, it was very exciting.  Soon after this a friend of mine invited me to join her in an art show, Open Studios of Beavercreek, this is where I made friends with a lot of different artist.  After the show a few fellow artists encouraged me to join my first art guild, Three Rivers Art Guild in Oregon City, this was great because the guild really gave me a lot of support in learning about other upcoming shows, galleries and even other guilds to join.  

 

Art has taken me many places....I am now in 5 wonderful galleries around the Portland and Bend areas, I have taught classes on how to weld and create metal art, won awards for my art, been featured in numerous newspaper articles and have even been on TV.  I really enjoy connecting with people at art shows and building custom pieces for them, that is really the direction I'm trying more to go in. Especially, because of the severe lack in artist willing to take on these jobs.

 

Visit her website at www.fairyforge.com.