Mom of two loving kids and a sweet and very round dog.
Artist. I enjoy making many things from different types of materials. From sterling silver to clay to paper to plastic to beer cans. I like to work with things that others may see as trash.
On a daily basis you can find me falling in love with the weeds you ignore or high fiving trees.
I immigrated from the States to La Reunion a decade ago and never looked back.
I always had at least two jobs. Usually one full time job either working in an office, in the early years as an Executive Assistant for Chase Bank or Mtv Networks, later as a Business Manager or in house Bookkeeper for a variety of industries.
My part time job was usually retail and also selling my custom hand made jewelry (Jessi’s Metal)
Born in Atlanta, Georgia. I moved to New York in 1999 where I lived off and on for 15 years.
Leaving the States
After a month long volunteer project in Tanzania, almost immediately after my return to NY, I started feeling a pull that I couldn’t ignore. I felt the wind calling me to migrate to the Indian Ocean.
So I got rid of everything, transitioned my clients to capable hands, said goodbye to friends and to a version of me that I would only see glimpses of momentarily over the next many years and followed my heart to Arusha, Tanzania..
But all didn’t go as I had expected or hoped for when I arrived. I wondered if I had made a mistake, but knew that I needed to continue on instead of turn back.
And interestingly enough, I eventually found myself on a remote, roadless/car-free and electricity-free island in northern Madagascar.
On this island I learned to project manage within two very different cultures. One abided by Western standards of time and approaches, while the other embraced a different rhythm (much slower), with different kinds of goals, and priorities.
Navigating this type of balance was very demanding and at times seemed impossible, but it made me create intimate connections with the locals and therefore I tried hard to learn their local dialect.
My life looked vastly different than my NY life. I went to bed just after the sunset and woke up to chickens and other animals/insects with the sunrise. I walked to work, along the water, over huge volcanic rocks and road boats home every day. Anything solar powered became like gold and seeing sea turtles bob their head to the service or lay eggs became a common view.
I was happy. It was weird.
Later on, with this as my view every day, I met my future husband. He was visiting “my island” from his home island, La Reunion.
Years later, we celebrated our marriage on that very island and beach, with our three-month-old child by our side. We were lucky to welcome a second kid 2 years after that.
