About Jen
My life was forever changed
I was a professional photographer for 10 years when I decided to close at the height of it. I was pregnant with our 4th and spread too thin between running my business and taking care of my kids. Something was going to give and it wasn’t going to be my children.Three weeks after I closed and was ready to settle into motherhood, I gave birth to our fourth child, our only son, Declan Caleb Shannon. We did not know that he would be born with a congenital heart defect.
Hind sight is 20/20. I felt God strongly urging me to close my photography business. Soon after Declan’s birth, I knew why. After Declan was born and immediately whisked to the NICU and then transferred downtown to Wolfson, our lives were turned upside down. He was in the cardiac ICU for 2 months before he got to come home. What happened during those two months has forever changed me, my life, and the way I see things. Maybe at some point, I’ll tell his story here, but for now, I want to tell you how that led me here.
I’ve searched for my path for two years and each step brought me here
There is no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision to “retire” as a photographer. The first year after his birth was spent in hospitals, doctors offices, therapies, and adjusting. My business would have crumbled. I would have let down my clients and it would not have been fair to them.
Art is Cathartic.
It allows us to heal even if we don’t know we need to.
-Jen
My path, once blurred, became Clearer with each step forward.
I’ve always been an artist, though many forms are merely a hobby. During the first year after Declan’s birth, I began to explore more deeply, untethered, into art I had long neglected. Everyone has different ways they cope and it became obvious that mine was through pouring myself into my art.
The problem was I loved too many things to focus on just one as a business.
I came to a point in 2020 where I realized if I wanted to create a career for myself, I needed to focus on one thing. I was very torn about that idea and after speaking at length to my husband and best friend, they both, in separate conversations unbeknownst to each other, told me they’d thought for a long time that I should teach. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I’m not sure.
So here we are. My kids are happy, growing, and I’m feeling a greater sense of purpose. This is my budding career. I hope to see you along for this journey. XOXO
