Meet Jenna Lu | Multi Media Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenna Lu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenna, what role has risk played in your life or career?
As an overall creative, I have trouble sticking to one medium. My skills shine the best in my pen drawings, but I just like creating something out of nothing. As a traditional artist, my go to mediums are pens, pencils and paint. I enjoy building models from scraps, clay or anything I can find. The possibilities are endless. I took up macrame during the pandemic as a way to make some cash, then it became a regular item people started to ask for.

With so many different mediums, it was a risk to incorporate all of my creations in my business. I was worried it would be too much and overcrowded. I knew I wanted to show the public what I can do, it just happened to be a lot different things. From drawings, paintings, macrame, merchandise, trinkets, stickers, etc. I was able to have a wide variety of products to show and sell.

The risk paid off because I offer so many different things. For example my macrame audience is different from my traditional pen drawing audience. I have something for everyone.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m most proud of my pointillism drawings. This technique is very very time consuming but looks incredible when finished. You need a good understanding of shadows/highlight and knowing where and which belongs. Not a lot of people know what pointillism is. Basically it’s a technique of drawing where the entire piece is created by an obscene amount of dots. It takes hours even days to weeks to complete a piece. Coming from a small town, there’s not a lot of pointillist artists around. I’ve participated in a few art shows and have been a consumer in tons, but to be honest I haven’t seen another Lansing based pointillism artist.

I want people to know that people out there will like your art. Just take the leap and express yourself, let the world in. Finding the audience that truly appreciates your hard work and the time it takes is the actual payment. It’s priceless. When I participate in art shows, hearing people’s feedback and striking up conversations with people who want to learn more is better than the money.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to the salon I work at, Capellini Salon, and give them the whole treatment. A shampoo style with a fresh trim, and maybe a little hair treatment.

As for food, I would take them to Babe’s Corner and Strange Matter Co.
For drinks I would take them to Henry’s Place or the Graduate for a fancier experience. For activities I would take them to Hooked, or take a walk at Hawk Island. If the season was right, going to farmers markets and having a picnic at the MSU gardens is always fun. As for shopping, my favorite places to go is Vintage Junkies, Sparrow Bloom, Capital Hippie, and Metro Retro. I think it’s very important to support local as much as we can.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to shout out my high school ceramics teacher, Brooke Peiffer.

She was my favorite teacher, and she’s just a genuine person overall. I loved her so much that I took every class of hers that I could. She taught ceramics wheel throwing, hand building and photography. As an artist herself, she was my role model. She taught me a lot, but most importantly to create things from the heart.

I make what I want to make, and I never come out with a piece I’m not 100% happy with. She taught me to never settle with my work, and with that comes self discipline. It’s easy for other artists to lose sight of the quality of their work over time. If I’m selling something that’s made with my own two hands, I will not sell it if it’s not up to my standards.

Instagram: @thejennalucollective