About The Artists : Branching Out Studios

Jennifer Ferriday & Gabe Nemiroff

Within months of graduating from Rutgers, the state University of New Jersey, Jennifer and Gabe decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the east and head west. Intrigued by the vistas and mysteries of the desert southwest, and in search of new artistic inspiration and opportunities, they landed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2002. There they began their journey as working artists, opening Branching Out Studios in 2005. Having each earned a BFA degree from the prestigious Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, they felt they had a strong background and were ready to launch their own careers as artists. As Gabe pursues his long-time dream of blowing glass, Jennifer continues to create her art. In 2007 Jennifer earned her Master's in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. Jennifer and Gabe currently live high in the Sandia Mountains with their dogs, Guernica and Abbey (after Edward Abbey) and their four cats- Rothko, Calder, Whitney and MoMA. All eight love the magnificent mountain views.

Jennifer Ferriday

With her imagination as her guide, Jennifer Ferriday’s art sifts through the debris of the past and asks, what can be learned from these relics? What stories can be told? What is neglect and abandonment? Are these relics symbolic of life - or of death? Do they represent despair or hope? To each of us these images will evoke varying emotions and questions. Some will wonder about the environment while others will wonder about the people and the places. Yet others, still, will wonder about the circumstances that brought these places and things to the present day; the historical, political and economic factors that made these images what they are. Ultimately her images give us reason to wonder and imagine in a way we may never have before.
Ferriday’s background in fine arts, therapeutic art, and art education has helped her develop a deep understanding of how the imagination works. Seeking out meaning in ordinary objects, she consistently questions how the past can lead us to future resolve. Her work is imaginal yet realistic, anthropological and archeological, social and political, and environmental in nature. Ferriday’s artworks act as a time machine for the imagination. The works take us back in time, send us to the future, and return us to the present. She explains,

As art taps on the soul of each individual in a uniquely
personal way, each person will have a different imaginal
experience while viewing my images. The goal is for my
viewers to ask themselves questions and to wait for an
answer to resonate within their souls. This resonation
provides a therapeutic edge to the work of art. In a time
when our society is split into sides, our politics are often
corrupt, our environment is gasping for life, our families
are breaking apart, our food and water is laced with
poisons, and our vision of the American Dream is
becoming more about materialistic property than about
expression and soul, it is necessary for us to turn to art
as a way of healing.

Most recently, Jennifer is focused on embracing the totality of her imagination to delve deep within her soul, allowing her images to evolve naturally. What has evolved are breathtaking, one-of-a-kind, entirely unique imaginal landscapes and mindscapes.
Working for the program "Arts-in-Medicine", Jennifer works as a visual artist and art educator at the The University of New Mexico Hospitals. There she facilitates art making with patients, family members, medical professionals and the general public. She also educates medical professionals about the therapeutic nature of art at periodic retreats for nurses and medical professionals in Santa Fe.
In addition to working with Arts-in-Medicine, Jennifer teaches art and video production at Moriarty High School in Moriarty, New Mexico.
"Art heals. Too many people think about art as something they can or cannot do. There are no rights or wrongs in art! My goal is to teach my participants, whether patients, family members, medical professionals, the general public, or high school students about themselves and the world around them by creating an artistic environment for the development and expression of acute consciousness through the use of the imagination."

Gabe Nemiroff

Gabe Nemiroff draws inspiration for his colorful borosilicate glassworks from the biological, botanical, and geological structures he encounters in New Mexico and other inspiring landscapes. Born and raised just outside Washington D.C., Gabe was surrounded by art and music while growing up. After high school he enrolled in a glass-blowing course. "From then on- I was hooked! I love the way the liquid glass stops time when it cools. The moment is frozen - forever." Gabe's keen eye allows him to create finely detailed forms in the glass. Since settling in New Mexico Gabe spends most of his time in his glass studio creating one-of-a-kind jewelry, marbles, paperweights, bottle stoppers, and sculptures. "I love the heat of the flame," he says. "But it gets mighty hot by midday here, so that's when I take a siesta and spend some time cherishing the beauty of the New Mexico landscape!"

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