Jen Simmons

When I was in first grade, we had some kind of assignment where we were to describe what we wanted to be once we grew up. Most of the girls were saying “a mommy” or “a teacher” — the two roles most common for adult women in the mid-70s.

I wanted to be an artist.

I was worried, however. The six-year-old me didn’t think I could ever make a living as an artist, since we live in America and we don’t have a king. Without a king, there is no one to pay the artists to make art. In a democracy like ours, artists struggle and are poor. How could I ever make it? I didn’t want to live on the streets.

Somehow, I figured it out.

Over the years I’ve worked on many, many projects. I started out as a theater technician and scenic designer. I learned graphic design (or “desktop publishing” as it was called then). I stage managed and produced; designed lighting and mixed sound. Started building websites. Kept learning and mixing — visual design with moving pictures, digital technology with live performance. Most recently, I’ve been creating multi-channel projections for live performance, and making short films for festival circuits and internet distribution.

Some of the projects highlighted on this website include:

• Bush for Peace
• Inclinations
• Violet Fire
• love conjure/blues

You can see some of my portfolio of most recent web design and development over here.