About
Jenelle Leigh Campion
Learn about Jenelle's journey into art.
Artist Statement
Jenelle Leigh Campion
We are all on a vibrational journey. Like a fine instrument, our soul is in constant need of re-tuning as we dance through life. The gift of art is that it nurtures joy, creates feelings of abundance in our hearts and homes, and shares the spiritual magic that the sweetness of beauty can provide.
My intention is to generate a peaceful atmosphere through making nourishing and resonant artwork.
Biography
Jenelle Leigh Campion is a New Orleans-based artist with a penchant for vibrant, colorful art. She uses art making as a ritual practice to cast magic onto canvas and create transformational talismans.
Her practice as a visual artist grew out of working as a set designer in both high school and college and training in the holistic healing arts like shamanic healing and massage therapy. Through these practices she learned how color and shape influence our sense of relationship to our bodies and our environments.
An undergraduate degree in Art History and a minor in American Studies from Rutgers University gave her a broad exposure to the history of how people have spoken with symbols across time and culture. After graduation Campion volunteered for 3 years on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to work as a kindergarten aide and an art teacher at the Our Lady of Lourdes School.
In 2009 she moved to Oakland to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Inquiry and a certification in Sound, Voice and Music Healing at the California Institute of Integral Studies. This program taught her how to open to the flow of her own artistic process. During this time Campion developed a mature sense of voice, perspective and technique.
Her primary series include Beautiful Bodies, which features skeletons with hearts to remind people to "be in your body and see with your heart". Another series, Rivers, pays homage to the powerful and mysterious nature of rivers. Jenelle's work is deeply connected to prayerful creativity and her art serves as a medium for healing and self-discovery.
She began selling art on Pirate's Alley in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA in 2013 where she began painting her Beautiful Bodies. The next year she was able to move into Jackson Square where she can be found daily.
Art Education
Resume
2012
- Master in Fine Arts: Creative Inquiry, Interdisciplinary Arts, California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco, CA
2002
- Bachelors of Arts: Art History, Minor: American Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
* = solo shows marked by an asterisk
2013 – Current
- Year Round: *Jackson Square, selling original art in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
2016
- Apr – Nov: *World Tree Healing, solo art display in a community healing center, Chicago, IL
- Sep: Skewer Gallery Group Show (Play), New Orleans, LA
2014
- Jun, Aug, Sep: Skewer Gallery Group Show: Mythos, Text, Body, New Orleans, LA.
- Jackson Square, selling original art in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
2013
- Feb – Dec: *Pirates Alley/Royal Street, selling original art in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
- Apr: *St. Claude Night Market, New Orleans, LA
- Aug: Summertime Studios, New Orleans, LA
- Nov: Big Top Gallery (Fundraising Show), New Orleans, LA
2012
- Jan – Feb: Diablo Valley College Art Gallery, Telling Stories Through Art, Pleasant Valley, CA
- Apr: *CIIS Minna Gallery, MFA thesis exhibition: Rivers, San Francisco, CA
- May: *San Francisco Spiritual Enrichment Center, Rivers, San Francisco, CA
- Sep: Big Top Gallery, Circus, Circus, Circus, New Orleans, LA
- Oct: Big Top Gallery, Pop-up gallery at Voodoo Fest, New Orleans, LA
2011
- Jul: Village Theater Art Gallery, The Elegant Line, Danville, CA
- Sep – Oct: Village Theater Art Gallery, Offerings: Works of Text and Image, Danville, CA
2015 – Current
- Jackson Square Artist Committee Member: Participated in maintaining communication between the Jackson Square Artists community and the city of New Orleans.
2015
- Aug: Girls Rock Camp, Chair Massage for volunteers, New Orleans, LA
2017 – 2019
- Apr: Art Donation, RUBARB Fundraiser, New Orleans, LA
2017
- Apr: Art Donation, Bike Easy Fundraiser, New Orleans, LA
2015 – 2016
- Jan – Dec: Collabo Industries, Co-host of the Sound Philosophy Podcast , New Orleans, LA
2015
- Aug: Art Donation, Iron Rail Library Fundraiser, New Orleans, LA
- Sep: Art Donation, Goat in the Road Theater Fundraiser, New Orleans, LA
2014
- Jan – Dec: Collabo Industries, Co-host of the Sound Philosophy, New Orleans, LA
- Jan: Open Screens, Hey Café, New Orleans, LA
- Jan: Tarot Reader, Krewe of the Rolling Elvi Event, New Orleans, LA
- Mar: Art Donation, RUBARB Fundraiser, New Orleans, LA
- May: Tarot Reader, New Orleans Poetry Brothel, New Orleans, LA
- Nov: Poetry contribution, Radical Healers Zine, New Orleans, LA
2013
- Mar: Tarot Reader, New Orleans Poetry Brothel, New Orleans, LA
- May: Art Donation, RUBARB Fundraiser, New Orleans, LA
2012
- Oct: Recorded at the Never Records installation, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans LA
- Nov: Tarot Reader, New Orleans Poetry Brothel, New Orleans, LA
2011
- Jun: Performer, Saraswati Salon, San Francisco, CA
- Sep – Dec: Volunteer, Rock, Paper, Scissors Art Collective, Oakland, CA
2010
- May: Performer, Sing In The Spring, San Francisco, CA
2004
- Tattoo Participant, Shelly Jackson, Skin: A Living Work of Art, Brooklyn, NY
2012
- CIIS student gallery: What is Uniquely Human?, San Francisco, CA
- CIIS student gallery: Art As Healing Object, San Francisco, CA
- CIIS student gallery: Student solo shows, San Francisco, CA
2003 – 2006
- Americorps Volunteer: Art Teacher Grades K-8, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Porcupine, SD
2004
- Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp: Camp Councilor, Steamboat Springs, CO
2014
- House Manager, New Orleans Fringe Festival, New Orleans, LA
2010
- Light Board Operator, Rasmussen Productions: Maneater, San Francisco, CA
2009
- Stage Manager, New Orleans Fringe Festival: Rebuilding Appalachian Spring, New Orleans, LA
2007-2009
- Light/Sound Board Operator, La Nuit Theater: Improv Comedy/Stand Up Open Mics, New Orleans, LA
2000
- Stage Crew, University of London: various student productions, London, UK
1999
- Stage Hand, Melbourne Fringe Festival: All The News Thats Fit To Print, Melbourne, AU
1997
- Stage Manager, Suydam Street Players: Rebecca, New Brunswick, NJ
1995
- Set Decorator, Mason Gross School of the Arts: Alice in the Fishbowl, New Brunswick, NJ
