"Imagination is the instrument of hope"

~Dr. Chan Hellman

A native of Santa Rosa, California Jeannie Bailly, spent the first part of her life in Northern California and the next ten years in Seattle, Washington. Jeannie grew up with a love for the arts, nature, horses, and children. Creativity has always been a means to express, learn, and share with others. Because of personal experiences and the challenges she has faced and overcome, Jeannie’s art and interactions with individuals of all ages inspires and offers hope.  Her life’s work so far has been about transformation through self -discovery and self-growth.  Jeannie’s approach to life is reflected in her artwork: adventurous, intuitive, explorative, and inspiring.

While in Seattle and Northern California she has explored many avenues of self–expression through creativity. These include: dance, theater, poetry, music, and the visual arts.  Jeannie’s first college efforts were focused on dance and theater.  While working as a teacher’s aide she studied Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Middle Eastern, and African dance at a variety of different schools.  Her dancing led her to be a part of the dynamic dance troupe “Exist” in Sonoma County for 2 years.  Her theatrical training culminated in creating a one-woman show performed at Humboldt State University in 1999.  She has showcased her songs solo and in duets throughout Sonoma and Humboldt counties since 1998 at a variety of venues such as pubs, cafes, community events, farmer’s markets, recovery facilities, theaters, and youth groups.

In 2010 Jeannie completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art at Dominican University of California. Her focus was on oil painting, but she studied a variety of mediums including drawing, ceramics, digital photography, and graphic arts.  She was awarded the Academic Scholar Award for her senior thesis body of work called “Transformations”.  During the spring of 2010, she fulfilled her art internship at a school for students with special needs.  This experience involved completing two 20 foot murals with 24 students ages 5-22.  The end result was the successful completion of these murals displayed on the walls of the school, and an after school art program.

Since then, Jeannie has continued to share her passion for the arts and helping others by working at a residential treatment program for those with mental health and substance use disorders. Here, she created and facilitated a successful weekly recovery art group. This arts program culminated in a collaborative art exhibit entitled, “Out of the Shadows; A Collection of Transformative Art”, which displayed 60 works of art at the Steele Range Community Center in Santa Rosa, California.

Most recently, Jeannie earned her Teaching Credential and Master’s Degree in Education from the University of San Francisco, and is teaching High School Art and Ceramics. She has created a vibrant arts curriculum with a strong foundation in the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design. Visual Arts Projects include: mask making, scarecrow contest (the student body votes for the top 3), mono printing, collage, acrylic painting, wire art, art journals, exposure to different art styles and artists. Ceramic projects include: wheel work basics, slab building basics and advanced, non-traditional gingerbread houses, tea sets, large book with a theme, butter dishes, trays, decorative boxes, masks, pitchers, mugs, coil vessels, artist choice projects. Check out the art students instagram “CLHS Art Gallery” at clhs_art.

Jeannie continues to seek a deeper understanding and wisdom of her internal landscape through the arts, education, and the natural world, which better informs her art and the way in which she works with others.