My name is Jenna Boldebuck and I am an artist and designer living in New York City. Since I was a child I have been interested in how the built environment informs the patterns and rhythms of daily life. I moved a lot as a kid and in each place we lived I observed how my environment could have a profound impact on how I played, learned, and felt. I wanted to study this in school so I went to the University of Colorado to study Architecture. In school, I enjoyed building models and physically engaging with different materials. I loved repeating small tasks like cutting cardboard with an Exacto Knife and trying to improve my craft with each stroke. However the scale of architecture was too large for me. I wanted to connect with people more intimately through my design work.

After I graduated I furthered my studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I studied Designed Objects. My work there centered around pattern and repetition. I wanted to design objects that embedded meaning into people’s daily rituals. I became very interested in how people learned and developed skills. I questioned the types of relationships people developed with tools and objects they used repeatedly. How did mastering the tools available in one’s environment make them feel more empowered? What role does the industrial designer have in giving people control over their built environment? To answer these questions I began studying early childhood development theories, becoming interested in loose parts theories, which study how inputting more variables into the built environment gives people(especially children) more control and autonomy.

I began working with Guidecraft, a company that designs and manufactures toys and equipment for early childhood classrooms. I still work with Guidecraft, through my 7 years working there I developed 3 toys systems: IO Blocks, Block Science, and Coral Connections.  Each toy has a unique character but all of them are open ended, modular construction systems that invite children to create their own outcomes.

In NYC I also began collaborating with Yvonne Shortt. We have worked on numerous art and design projects in different communities throughout the city. One such project was Women Who Build, Artist who Own. We designed and built a mobile studio with over 200 volunteers. Together we learned basic construction skills and shared our new found skills with the community. Yvonne and I have continued collaborating and brainstorming different ways we can empower people through art and design.