Artist | Surface Pattern Designer
It all began with a Zentangle. After being diagnosed with PTSD in 2016, I was desperately trying to find a way to practice meditation, except I couldn't sit with my eyes closed without devolving into a panic attack. One day, I was walking through Michaels, and I saw an end cap full of Zentangle supplies. On impulse, I bought a bunch of pens, tiles, and a book. Even still, I waited a while before putting pen to paper. Like most people, I thought I needed an art background to make it work.
When I finally found the courage, I realized all you needed was to be able to draw a line, a circle, or a squiggle. I was hooked. It was also the first time in my life that I could remember concentrating for any length of time and having my mind clear of everything but the paper in front of me and the pen in my hand. I had found my own form of meditation.
The art bug had also bitten me, and I began seeking out tutorials and teachers to learn how to draw shapes and forms. I invested in an iPad and Apple Pencil. The rest, as they say, is history.
Owl Medicine was born in 2020 when I realized that your average greeting card aisle doesn't cover trauma. So, I created my first-ever line of greeting cards. Today, Owl Medicine has grown beyond my wildest dreams!
The Official, High-Falluting Bio ...
Janet Federico is a licensed artist, award-winning author, trauma educator, and speaker from Washington, DC, now based in the Midwest. Her art has been exhibited at the Wichita Art Museum, the Wilson K. Cadman Art Gallery, City Arts, and InterUrban Art House to name a few. Janet's writing has been featured in Elephant Journal, Writer’s Digest, and The Mighty.
In 2020, Janet launched Owl Medicine to provide greeting cards and art products for life’s “unspeakable” situations. She also hosts workshops where she teaches fellow survivors how to use the creative arts to process trauma.
Janet is the former Executive Director of Thrive ICT, an organization devoted to providing long-term support to survivors of violence. Janet also holds a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction and a Master of Business Administration and is a Diamonds Graduate of the Gemological Institute of America.