Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Pinkner.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Throughout my life, I have enjoyed using art as an outlet. There are times that I have created more to process difficult emotions such as infertility, loss, and hard diagnoses in our family. Then, enter the pandemic. My husband is a high risk, and because of that, we chose to homeschool our two elementary-aged boys. There was a lot of togetherness with nowhere to go! So, I began creating more with the heart to create pieces that have established meaning in our lives.
It began with collages of hometowns, towns in Tennessee, and home portraits by commission. People wanted to share in the joy and nostalgia, so I had prints made at F32 Photo in Knoxville. April Love, the owner, is a friend of mine, and she really fanned into flame a belief in myself that I needed to share my creations with others. I have run an online skincare business for 7 years, and I knew I wanted to work smarter with my creations. So, I turned on my Etsy page that I had used 10 years prior to selling the prints. That moved from prints to ornaments. Then, another small business offered to do t-shirts of my Knoxville print. I love, love, love encouraging small businesses especially when they have women entrepreneurs spreading their wings.
As things began to grow, I had several entrepreneurs reach out to me on Etsy to inquire about purchasing my designs to use in their printing businesses. I began to run with some numbers, and I realized that the best option was to invest in a sublimation printer and heat press in order to make t-shirts, ornaments, etc., from my home. Social media is a powerful tool to share art and business, but I also wanted to expand my reach to other marketplaces. I began researching a bit into Painted Tree Marketplace that opened in West Knoxville.
I opened a booth there in October of 2021, and my prayer is that it is an outlet to encourage others with my art and my message. I offer bigger pieces that I have painted (prints and originals), t-shirts, ornaments, notecards, prints, but I also offer my story to encourage others along the way. My business is not simply a money-making venture, it is a way to share hope in the journey.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As human beings, we all are growing into ourselves. We never “arrive.” There are doubts, failures, and shots to the confidence. I believe the key to being an entrepreneur is being willing to fail, get back up, fail and get back up. We cannot foresee all the roads in front of us–hello 2020-2021! I am 46 years old, and I have had several different ventures as an entrepreneur. I am educated as a School Counselor, and I have pivoted several times. I began a non-profit ministry in 2008 called Women’s Discipleship Concepts.
It was scary and the path was being made in the midst. I spent five years of my life investing there, and it gave me confidence that I can do outside of the box hard things. I faced many sleepless nights along the way trying to figure out the legal ramifications, what it meant to have aboard, and what it meant to lead and invest in integrity in the lives of young women. I pivoted again in 2014 when my oldest son’s needs dictated a change in my time investment. I began an online business with Rodan + Fields. In my 7 years with this company, I have gained so much as far as confidence in myself as an entrepreneur, confidence in public speaking, business acumen, facing criticism, dealing with customers, recognizing the value of a product, and pricing.
It is because of those experiences and skills built in the ventures before that I stuck my neck out to build an art business. I have made some mistakes, but I have the mantra of “I can figure it out.” Fail, learn new skills, go forward again… My theory on life is that it is a lot of problem-solving.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My art business is called The Art of Coming Alive. It is indicative of my journey and my heart for encouraging others in their journeys. Creating and growing as an artist has helped me process grief and challenges in my adult life. Life is a series of griefs. My faith is what holds me and what forms me. The paintings I am most proud of are those which document the growth process of surrender and following Christ within me.
I love being able to use those visuals to share with others and to encourage them to come alive more in their faith.
Nothing is wasted. I have married all the experiences I have had along the way (counseling, mentoring women, business) to help create and to encourage others.
My marketplace on Etsy and The Painted Tree feature city collages, t-shirts, and prints, and I spend time creating commissions for others painting places that have helped them come alive and painting for spaces that are very important to them.
What I am most proud of? I have a series on vulnerability and formation that are less mainstream, but I believe they have a deeper impact.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
In all of my entrepreneurial ventures, I have learned the valuable lesson that no one makes boundaries for you. Being an entrepreneur can eat you alive because there’s always more and more you can do. You have to guard the boundary of your family, your mental health, your goals. There’s always someone else who is doing better and more.
There’s always something more you can spend money on to “grow.” You have to define what success is for you instead of living life looking at all the other lanes. Social media marketing toward entrepreneurs gives you so much noise of what you “could be doing.” You have to draw a line and have a plan that can be scaled.
Contact Info:
- Email: the.art.of.coming.alive@gmail.com
- Website: jenpinknerart.com
- Instagram: @the.art.of.coming.alive
Image Credits
Headshot photographed by Andrea Spidell
