Conversations with the Inspiring Jennifer Torres

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Torres.

Jennifer, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I became an art educator sort of by chance. I was the young mom of an elementary-aged son, working part-time and trying to complete my undecided degree at UNT. While volunteering at my son’s school, I witnessed the art teacher teaching a lesson on forming pinch pots to Kindergartners. The kids appropriately pinched and pulled at their clay making various “pot-ish” forms – some well, some less than perfect, but all very proud of themselves. To my horror, the art teacher then told every child to sit on their hands while she went around to each child’s pot and reshaped it into a perfect pot, each one now looking exactly the same. I couldn’t believe it. She had taken away the very thing that made that child’s creation unique and in doing so, communicated to her students that there were a wrong way and a “right” way to make art. It was at that moment that I decided that I didn’t want my own son to have that experience and sought to learn a better way to encourage kids through art making. I changed my degree at UNT for the 3rd time and immediately found my tribe. Having focused more on theater arts growing up in school, I was definitely not the strongest visual artist in the program. Therefore, after multiple harsh, gut-wrenching critiques by my professors, I focused on becoming the sort of educator that builds-up and inspires no matter the skill level.

After graduating, acquiring my master’s degree in art education, working in non-profit arts education and teaching elementary art for over 18 years, I desired a studio of my own. A space where I could teach my summer art camps for kids without having to rent a space and lug all my art supplies from place to place. I also dreamed of expanding my art classes to include adults and other art educators. Cedars Art House was hatched from these dreams. In 2015, when my husband and I decided to buy a lot and build a house in our artsy, eclectic Cedars neighborhood, we devised a plan to include an art studio on the first floor. Since moving in in the summer of 2017, we’ve hosted multiple summer art camps, a series of abstract expressionism workshops for adults, a Vision Board workshop, a summer weaving residency for adults & educators, a parent/child Valentine’s watercolor workshop, a holiday Parent’s Day Out event, a bicycle tire up-cycling workshop for our neighborhood Bike Friendly Cedars group, custom art workshops and events for kids of all ages, showcased multiple local artists and their work in the annual Cedars Open Studios event, and much more!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Anyone starting a small business experiences struggles along the way. I think my biggest struggle was second-guessing myself. Letting the negative voices of my college professors saying, “you’ll never be an artist”, “you’re not good enough” creep in from time to time. A few years ago, I read a quote by John Burroughs that said, “leap and the net will appear” and it really resonated with me. Those words became my mantra and gave me the courage to move forward with my goals even when I was frozen with fear or self-doubt. Sometimes, you just have to have faith in yourself and dive in head first or risk being stuck in the same place forever.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Cedars Art House story. Tell us more about it.
Cedars Art House was created to be a place to learn about art, to interact with other artists, and to provide studio space for creative expression for people of all ages and skill levels. We specialize in making everyone feel welcome and comfortable in the art-making process. As the Education Director and an art teacher, my particular gift is the ability to connect people with the expressionist and artist that lives inside each of us. I once had a woman attending one of my workshops say to me, “You are so encouraging. I came in knowing nothing about painting and am leaving feeling like Picasso!” That to me is what it’s all about.

Our classes are small and are taught by me and other amazingly talented, highly-experienced local artists and art educators. We even offer custom art workshops for kids and adults – all you need is a group of friends and an art medium in mind and we’ll do the rest! At Cedars Art House we also seek to engage our community by hosting a series of accessible events such as BYOA (Bring Your Own Art) Sessions. These are free, monthly experiences open to the public where participants are encouraged to bring an art project they’re working on or one they’d like to start while engaging with other art-minded people in a fun, relaxing atmosphere. We’ve had everything from oil painting, jewelry making, embroidering, clay sculpting, to coloring book coloring… all art-making is welcome! Our next goal is to provide super affordable, monthly life drawing sessions.

It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Like most visual people, Instagram provides me constant inspiration and motivation. I love seeing what people are creating all over the world and how they choose to express themselves to others. There are so many incredible things happening all around us and Instagram makes it possible to be a part of it wherever you are. As for keeping myself grounded in my daily life, I often refer back to Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements. The book’s simple, yet powerful advice helps keep me focused on gratitude and the power of love in all things.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cedarsarthouse.com
• Email: info@cedarsarthouse.com
• Instagram: @cedarsarthouse
• Facebook: @cedarsarthouse

Image Credit:
Stephanie Holloway, Saul Torres

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