• Earlier in my life and, likely yours too, we put aside our desires, interests, and passions to care for and support others: employers, spouses, and children. Once we reach 50 plus, we are tired of this constant outside focus. We’re ready to devote energy to ourselves, to restore our passion. I know I was an award-winning poet before family life took over.
• Because I wanted to reignite my own creativity, I was excited to meet and learn about art from Jennifer Croney Chernak.
• In this episode, Jennifer tells us her story about when she knew she was an artist.
• She shares her life journey of how she developed and grew her skills as an artist from childhood through liberal arts college at Mount Holyoke to working as an English then art teacher. While working, she continued to push boundaries in her own art.
• Even more than her journey, she shares specific art techniques using various media and surfaces for her painting. Discover her innovative and non-traditional approaches.
• What I love is how she combines urban and natural space in her art, focusing on the interface between nature and human constructs like buildings.
• Based in Philadelphia, she has a perfect location for exploring and pushing boundaries between human beings and the natural world.
• Jennifer gives us valuable advice for how to color outside the lines- transform your life as a 50 up woman by following your creative passion on your own and within communities.
• Are you ready to create the passion filled life you always wanted but had to ignore? Learn how in our Living Loud Living Long (L4) community and podcast. We support you in becoming. Join us today at https://livingloudlivinglong.com.

About: Jennifer Croney Chernak lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her preferred mediums include acrylic, charcoal, caron d'ache, plaster, and mixed media. Her art explores the complexity of landscape through personal observation influenced by emotion, psychological impulse, and imagination. Chernak studied art at Mount Holyoke College, has attended several artist residencies, and currently teaches visual arts at the William Penn Charter School. She will soon join Orquevaux Artist Residency in France. "When I am outside, it is impossible for me to detach from thoughts of erosion, pollution, land overuse, and toxic human impact. These thoughts occur simultaneously with feelings of awe over the beauty of the sky, bodies of water, and land," said Chernak. Visit: Instagram: @Jenn_C_Chernak_art

• Christiane shares her learnings and advice with our Living Loud Living Long (L4) community about her mid-life career transformation journey from executive to creative.
• She made a significant career switch from successful senior executive at billion dollar financial software firms to a business school professor at Georgia State University and a fine artist.
• A near death health crisis made Christiane realize her health was precious and required nurturing. She survived, using her experience as a driving force for mid-life change.
• Using her business expertise, she created lists of pros and cons and used spreadsheets to map out specific actions on her path to fulfillment and healthy living.
• Her first step was reconnecting to childhood art training by her mother, a professional artist.
• Setting her goals for financial, physical, and mental well-being (the foundation of the Living Loud Living Long (L4) approach to life), helped illuminate her path.
• Christiane shares stories of her clinicians, family and friends who supported her. Like the doctor who encouraged her to connect to nature by walking barefoot on the office lawn.
• During her illness, her physician prescribed bed rest. Yet, Christiane turned this into an opportunity to deepen her art. Like Frida Kahlo, she learned to paint in bed.
• When it came to turning her passion into a career, Christiane tells L4 how she changed her mindset toward social media, embracing it with skill to connect with people and seize opportunities leading to fulfilling and paying work in academia and art.

About: Christiane Palpant is passionate about Professional Sales, Marketing, and Client Service. She has devoted her three-decade career to business leadership from start-up companies to Fortune 200 global enterprises. She was recently Senior Vice President and Head of Client Services at FIS, a Fortune 200 company and the world's largest global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies. Since 2019, Christiane has been teaching Principles of Professional Sales at Georgia State University with a full-time position with the university. She is an artist with Agora Gallery. Her passion is making a positive impact on people’s lives.

Claire works in the highly sought space of Hollywood movies and television shows in the less commonly known creative field of still photography. She talks with Dr. Hughes, Founder of Living Loud Living Long, about creativity both as a financially supportive career and as a soul satisfying activity. If you are reaching mid-life, wanting to transform yourself, feeling alone, then you belong in our authentic, healthy community where you can find who you’re meant to be and how to get there. With us you get fresh ideas grounded in good medicine and like-minded friends in our Living Loud Living Long Community.

• Career paths are often winding and involve pivots. Claire has been there. Pivots are good.
• Claire started in biology working in a top tier neuroscience laboratory. She tells us how people misunderstand science as lacking in creativity.
• Her pivot from science to art took place in steps. She tells us how she took purposeful smaller steps to get where she wanted to go.
• Our listeners learn how she turned her creative outlet, photography, into a career working on movie sets with well-known actors and actresses.
• She talks about her involvement with the Cinematographers Union.
• Mentoring is a more recent activity that the industry has taken up. Claire is on the forefront of this by being an early mentor and passing along her hard-earned experience through her union program.
• If you are inspired or learned from Claire’s podcast Like or Share this podcast or support us by Donating as a Patron to Living Loud Living Long. https://livingloudlivinglong.podbean.com/ or become a corporate sponsor.
• To hear the full interview, subscribe to our Premium Season 1 podcast. https://www.podbean.com/premium-podcast/livingloudlivinglongexclusiveseason1

Bio: Claire is a Unit Still Photographer working in Motion pictures and Television. Known for feature film work on over 70 features: dramas such as August Osage County, and Indy films like The Way, Way Back, and Manchester by the Sea. Worked with Director Ben Affleck on all four of his films, including Academy Award winning ARGO. Twice nominated for Publicists Guild award for Excellence in Still Photography for Motion Picture, 2013 and 2017. Affiliated with Local 600 Cinematographers Union since 2000.