Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published January 10, 2019.

Where are you originally from? What brought you to Rochester at this time in your life?

I grew up in Wayne County, out in Marion. I had only been to Rochester maybe once or twice before I turned 16. As I got older and started getting into art, I started following lots of Rochester people on Instagram and began attending seminars and events in the city. Being in the community helps you get highlighted as an artist a lot more.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester? 

I like the art and the murals, and our coffee shops bring us together. Rochester is painted very pretty. I really love the Vexta mural off Atlantic—and could spend hours exploring all the other ones in that little area.

What are some of your favorite local nonprofits to support?

I really like to support 540WMain. I think what they do is very cool.

If you had $100 and two hours to kill in Rochester, how would you spend the money/time? 

I’d get dinner at Brooklyn Ramen (I’m a cheap date), then I’d catch a movie at The Little. Afterwards, I’d head to Revelry or Living Roots to grab a drink.

What's the best place to get a garbage plate?

I recently took my seven year old to get her first garbage plate. We went to Fairport Hots and she loved it. She got all the traditional stuff, with the exception of meat sauce and onions—I thought that might be a bit much for a seven-year-old.

What is your personal coping mechanism for cold/gray weather? 

Me and my kids will make hot apple cider. We do lots of crafts indoors. I also try to go to more coffee shops, and I wear fuzzy socks all winter long.

What is your favorite Rochester memory? 

I remember going to Java’s all the time as a teenager, so that’s a good one. And more recently, I look back fondly on my first date with my husband at ArtisanWorks.

What makes Rochester unique? 

The overall community and tight-knit nature of it. There’s more support for local businesses here, which is great. It feels good to be a part of it.

What do you think could be improved? 

It would be nice to have more things for kids in town. The Strong Museum is awesome, but when we’re stuck inside all winter, you can’t always just go sledding. We need more inexpensive indoor options for kids.

If Rochester was a food, what would it be?

It would be a deluxe cheeseburger. Lots of layers are what make it really good—like the artists and makers we have, the coffee, the community. If you take away any one ingredient, it’s not quite the same anymore.

Tell me a little bit about your art and your business, Jade and Stone Design.

I started doing lettering in 2016 because I was bored and wanted to learn something new. I’m a perfectionist, and started getting good at it. Three Brothers Winery asked me to start teaching a few classes, so I started doing that. I was tired of my full-time job, and I’m a mother of four, so I transitioned to work on my business full-time! I got my DBA in April and have been getting lots of positive feedback!

JSD Perspective is my blog, that I thought about launching for 6-7 months before actually going for it. It’s a creative outlet just for myself, where I interview local business owners and influencers and illustrate their interviews on Instagram. It’s been very well received and I love doing it.

Who inspires you?

In general, all of the artists in Rochester inspire me to keep going. There’s a healthy element of competition, and a few folks who are way better than me, which pushes me to keep improving. There’s this book called Steal Like an Artist, and it says that creatives are always going to be inspired by other creatives, so art can be 'stealing' elements and getting inspired and making your own creation, and that’s okay. Two muralists in California really inspire me as well—they have bright, bold colors and they started from the ground up, like me. It’s really empowering to see. Their names are Roxy and Phoebe and their Instagram is @pandrdesignco.

Where in Rochester do you go to get inspired?

I go to the grocery store. I really like to cook, and the colors and shapes in the store, the food combinations, the beer can designs—they all really inspire me. And yes, of course, I’m shopping at Wegmans. It’s always Wegmans.

What advice would you give to up and coming artists in Rochester?

As hard as it might be, just put your work out there. It can be very vulnerable, but maybe somebody needs to see your art. Just put it out there and you’ll be happy you did.