Whether it's creating digital graphics, scrapbooking, quilting, sewing or drawing, artist and instructor Jenni White said she defines herself by what she can create and what she can teach others to create.
"I have a need to make something out of nothing, to take something useless and make it into something useful and meaningful," said White. "That is the theme that runs through all the things I do, and I love seeing kids and adults who just light up when they realize they can create something, too."
White, who grew up near Albany, N.Y., in Schenectady, had sewn all her life and started scrapbooking when she was attending college in Wisconsin.
"Scrapbooking is a way of telling a story and it's always great to tell a story, especially after having kids. Scrapbooks fix those moments in time that get lost in our memories," she said.
After getting a degree in theater with a minor in education in college, White said she worked as a stage manager for several places in Wisconsin for awhile. She also made the costumes for many of the productions.
She moved back to New York and met her husband while working in Rochester.
"He was hired to work in production and he impressed me," recalls White with a smile.
White said they later married and she made her wedding dress and seven others for the ceremony.
"After making all those dresses, I looked for something to sew that is not as labor intensive! So, I got into quilting because I get to pick and choose what I like," she said.
White's husband then got a job retouching photos with Eastmon Kodak and was relocated to Connecticut, where the couple lived for several years and had all three of their children.
In 2001, her husband was laid off and learned of several job opportunities for retouching photos at labs in Cleveland through networking and old contacts.
"We had no family here, but moving to Tennessee turned out to be a very good thing. Cleveland is a wonderful place to raise kids. I believe the Lord puts you in places where you need to learn a lesson," said White.
Around this time, White was learning several things about herself.
While White had always been an ardent scrapbooker, she found it to be a difficult hobby to maintain after having children.
"I stopped scrapbooking after my first child was born. I barely had time to take a shower, much less scrapbook. Plus, I couldn't leave all my stuff laying out when I wanted to take a break from scrapping with the scissors and small pieces," she said.
Later on, White taught a quilting class at Hancock's crafting store, where she also ran a kids' camp.
"I realized then that I liked teaching people to quilt more than just doing it for myself. The kids' camp also gave me the idea to work with kids," said White.
White said she started looking for opportunities to teach kids and adults some of the skills she had acquired.
She started by helping the staff at Yates Primary School produce the yearbook.
"My husband and I were early adapters at using digital prints and doing digital layout because of his job. So, I go the yearbook staff to start laying out the yearbook digitally. It was then that I had an 'Ah-ha!' moment. Why couldn't I do scrapbooking digitally, too?" said White.
"I discovered that other people were doing their scrapbooks digitally and I so I started. By embracing this new way of scrapbooking, I have found a way of telling a story which saves time and money. I can work on my computer for 10 to 30 minutes and just hit 'save' when I'm through for the day. One of my favorite things to do is take my lap top to Panera and sit and scrapbook for a few minutes.
"Digital scrapbooking is also a way to scrap frugally. Digital kits cost less. Printing can be expensive, but a lot of people do slideshows on their computers and just send them through e-mail. You have more potential for sharing, too. One year, I made one scrapbook and made three copies to give to all my kids' grandparents," said White.
White said people can always glue embellishments on their printed scrapbooks later, but adds "You can do some really neat stuff with photos with digital layout."
Since White was looking for ways to share her knowledge of digital scrapbooking, she and her husband decided to start a Web site business called Scrappers' Workshop at www.scrappersworkshop.com.
"At my Web site, I am dedicated to giving the tools and skills needed to do digital scrapbooking," said White, who said she teaches people from all over the United States, Europe and even Australia.
Because of the time zone changes, her hours are from late in the evening to about two in the morning.
White also teaches digital scrapbooking in some public schools to students and teachers and at Cleveland State Community College through its Continuing Education Program.
"It is a non-degree class which is less expensive and a fun way to learn how to do something. I can do something for everyone -- from basic to advanced. I can teach the basics in one hour and my students will leave having made something. In the class, I also teach picture resolution and what it means and how to use digital cameras. I really like people to embrace the digital world," said White.
In public schools, White teaches a wide variety of art classes from kindergarten through eighth grade. The classroom teachers apply for Allied Arts grants to allow White to have the opportunity to come to their schools.
"I am so fortunate to get funds from Allied Arts. It allows me to collaborate with the teachers to tie in what I teach with their curriculum and lessons," she said.
At Valley View Elementary, she teaches kindergarten students to quilt using iron-on appliquès.
"Kindergartners are fun to work with because they don't try to be perfect," said White.
At Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, White will give a six-week lesson on recycled art to first-graders in April.
"We'll do a different lesson each week. I'll have them using paper egg cartons, water bottles, bottle caps, newspapers and more to create art. I love to see kids realize they can make what they want to play with. They don't have to go buy a toy," she said.
White is presently teaching a class on Manga, or graphic novels, to middle school kids at Cleveland Middle School.
"Graphic novels use pictures and drawings to tell us what the words don't," she said.
White shows the students how to create a sequence of events in drawings and words to familiar nursery rhymes.
"Their drawings have to not only explain that Jack and Jill are getting a pail of water but also why they are. What can be communicated more with the illustrations.
"Middle schoolers can get very self-conscious at their age that they can't do things perfectly. I stress that the idea is not to do it perfectly but to do it their own way.
"Ninety percent of art is thinking and 10 percent is doing. It's how you think about what you can do. I love to see the light from the sparks in the kids' eyes who love the art projects. Especially if it makes them willing to try something new, I've done my job," said White.
For more information on digital scrapbooking, e-mail White at jenn@scrappersworkshop. com.
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