This week we met another artist called Jenny West, who is a very talented and passionate person in her industry. Listening to her was inspiring and it reminded me of last week’s speaker, Jenny Pisani, because of the evident similarities present in not only their life’s journey but also their work. Both speakers did not go the traditional STEM career route in life, and this is inspiring. Jenny West was very vocal and open when it came to explaining what types of art she makes, how she makes it, as well as her other side hustles. Society makes it seem that artists are always successful and are financially stable, but this is far from the truth. That can only be said about established artists and does not account for many other artists that do not have as much recognition. Jenny mentioned that she is in the studio three times a week and works as a bookkeeper in order to maintain her lifestyle which showed the authenticity that I enjoyed. I enjoyed this because it showed me the reality of being an artist in a society that revolves around money. Hearing Jenny West address her happiness and inspirations was heart-worming because a lot of people choose financial stability over happiness and seeing that some people do not is inspiring since there is a lot of peer pressure in conforming. I was specifically intrigued and surprised when she addressed her painting technique of “blind contouring”. She described how she would be blindfolded and have an image in her head and paint based off that, but it would come out different on the canvas and that was her art. I enjoyed this because it made her stand out and set her apart from other artists. The main concept that I took away from Jenny and her discussion was that people should pursue their passions and take opportunities open to them in relation to their passion.