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Meet Jennifer Carson--The Dragon Charmer!
Jennifer has always been a dreamer and
the characters in her imagination longed
to come alive. In her writing, and in
her designing, she strives for a
connection between her characters and
her reader/observer.
As a senior in high school, Jennifer
received a full scholarship to Washtenaw
Community College (Ann Arbor, MI), and
knowing that an education was costly,
and being a young graduate (seventeen),
she decided to accept it, and put off
going to art school. When she was
nineteen she had her first son with her
high-school sweetheart, and at twenty
they were married. Any plans for art
school were again, put off.
In the next seven years, three more boys
were added to their brood, and
Jennifer's desire to create something
other than children grew. She began
painting murals in children’s rooms,
starting with her own. Then she wanted
to create the bedding, so she learned to
sew—something she had fought her mom
tooth and nail over as a teenager. As
Jennifer's children got older and more
independent, she decided to go back to
the community college she had graduated
from and take some art classes. |
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Jennifer learned to use soft pastels,
loving how the colors overlapped and
made each layer richer, but with four
children in the house--it was a bit
messy. Watercolors were the next step,
and she found a bit of success, but she
still craved something more tangible.
After three semesters of life drawing,
Jennifer still felt that something was
missing in her art, and she was at a
standstill, not knowing which way to go.
Jennifer had always loved fabric and
textures, and figuring out how things
were put together, so she slowly moved
into the world of art dolls. She began
teaching herself how to design bodies,
starting with a simple dragon with only
two feet--constantly reaching for a more
complex form. In the beginning, she was
painting the features onto the dolls
with acrylic paint. Then her high-school
art teacher showed her how to use a
felting needle. That was it, the next
piece of the puzzle that Jennifer needed
in order to move forward with her work.
Now she is teaching others the magic of
a felting needle and loves to see the
smiles that her creations bring to
people’s faces. |
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A driving force in Jennifer's own work
has always been the work of Jim Henson
and the wonderful artists that were
lucky enough to work with him. It is her
sincere desire to one day be lucky
enough to work with Henson's son Brian,
who continues his vision.
In
July of 2008, Jennifer became an editor
for Faerie Magazine and hasn't looked
back. She's designed over 35 creative
sewing patterns, including the main
characters of her children's book,
To Find A Wonder, and she
still loves to create one of a kind
creatures and come up with new designs
to delight her customers.
Jennifer welcomes you to visit her
online at
www.thedragoncharmer.com and
www.findawonder.com.
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