About Salty Jen Studio

Jennifer is a stay-at-home marine biologist and homeschooling mama of three whose days are filled with love and learning.

She is a dedicated naturalist who credits her passion for exploring the natural world to the inspiration she received from her grandfather. At the same time, her mother encouraged her to color outside the lines (which caused trouble in grade school art class), further steering her toward left-brain studies and into the field of science.

While pursuing her studies, she always kept a handwork project in progress, such as rug hooking, cross-stitch, sewing, crafting clay beads, or making jewelry. Jennifer never considered herself an artist, seeing herself instead as a maker who liked solving problems. Fortunately, she discovered new avenues for creativity through teaching art to her children. Jennifer has realized that creating art, above all else, is about play at any age.

Jennifer's grandmother, a skilled sewist, made most of the clothes that her mother wore. This led Jennifer to sew her graduation dress, so she chose a pattern, fabric, and matching thread. However, by the time she finished, she was so tired of looking at the same fabric that she went out and bought a different dress for graduation. She was realizing that finding repeating patterns that genuinely resonated with her was a challenging task. The harmony in a pattern should bring joy after all.

Jump ahead to her role at the Maria Mitchell Aquarium. She needed a resource for the participants in the marine ecology field trips she led, so she co-authored "A Field Guide to the Marine Life of Nantucket," which ignited her passion for graphic design. It wasn’t until years later when she finally brought together the science, the patterns and the design.

When her oldest son turned seven, he began mastering origami. He needed to fold and fold he did. Together they designed an origami crane ornament for him to sell at a vendor fair. He also created mini cranes and carefully anchored them inside a tiny glass bottle. He made out well that day. Now he is fourteen and his origami drawers remain closed. Jennifer decided to create some of those ornaments for a holiday ornament exchange between other homeschool families. For these particular cranes she designed original patterns, assembled and added coordinating beadwork from upcycled jewelry.

Although her media are not always mixed, Jennifer often layers various artistic techniques. The scientist in her likes to experiment with how ink reacts to different types of paper. Because she has always been drawn to paper and likes the idea of not wasting any, she collects and sorts it by color, then turns the scraps into recycled paper.

So, she started Salty Jen Studio and began creating her own repeating patterns, drawing influence from the observations she makes while exploring nature. You can find a selection of her designs on Spoonflower. Through her art, Jennifer aims to inspire others to appreciate and protect the environment and encourage a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach to life.