Hello, I’m Jeni…
Thank you for visiting me here! For the last 20+ years I have been working as an illustrator and metalsmith. I’ve had a love of art and a penchant for science all my life. By day I am a certified medical illustrator. In the past, I served as a scientific illustrator and research associate in entomology for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC within the National Museum of Natural History. Essentially this means that I have illustrated a lot of bugs and body parts! In the evenings, that love of science gets infused into my craft work. Hence you will see lots of bugs and blossoms.
Realizing the need to make space for my personal creative practice, I established my studio, Jeni Elizabeth. I still like to create other illustrative works, mainly watercolor/cut-paper style Judaica art prints inspired from the many Jewish traditions and holidays I grew up with. Some of these designs are offered as limited edition prints in my shop, and are also available as print-on-demand on Fine Art America. Clients have also commissioned me to create custom prints for unique occassions.
Above are few examples of the kinds of illustrations I create as gifts outside of my normal illustration work.
"The first day, my instructor fired up the torch and handed it to me. Intimidated at first, I learned how to fuse metal, and I've been smitten ever since."
The main focus at Jeni Elizabeth is contemporary jewelry fabrication. My metalsmithing journey started quite by accident. I was taking creative enrichment classes in Boston. Reluctantly, I snagged a coveted seat in the always-sold-out jewelry class with the longest wait-list. I’ve never been a big jewelry person, but I couldn’t resist understanding why the class was so popular. What was I missing? Naively, I believed this class would be a beginner’s guide to bead stringing. The first day, my instructor fired up the torch and handed it to me. Intimidated at first, I learned how to fuse metal, and I’ve been smitten ever since.
After many years of experimenting in techniques like soldering, electroforming, casting, enameling, granulation, die-forming, and etching, I began to create my first production line centered around blossoms and cicadas. I decided to launch my nature inspired jewelry line in 2016. Now and then I update my production-line with new ideas and experiments from the studio. While most of my work is traditionally fabricated with precious metals, sometimes I use recycled materials like school supplies, tins and courtesy cards. Other times I am playing with industrial materials like powder-coat.
Jeni Elizabeth Jewelry combines my love for all things nature, including botanical elements like blossoms and branches, insects (especially cicadas) and other curiosa. The materials I like to use include silver, bronze, copper, glass, dried flowers, old family photos, ephemera and other precious elements. Though you’ll notice a theme throughout my designs, each piece is handmade and unique. Feel free to message me with any questions and enjoy shopping!
customized adornments:
#makecicadatime
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?I always tell my students to make cicada time. I am so used to making art for other people at their specifications and on tight deadlines. Time flies; life gets hectic. It’s important that we all make time and space for making our own creative outlets. Making art for art’s sake helps us constantly tinker and learn new things that feed our daily practice. For me, that was always giving into my obsession with nature, specifically botanicals and insects. One of my favorite motifs is the cicada which represents life-cycles and renewal. I constantly want to reinvent my creative process to keep things fresh, making “cicada time” a regular priority.
handmade nature-inspired jewelry
