Jenifer and her husband, David, in India.
The Fort Point neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, isn’t just home to OAT’s international headquarters—it’s also known for its thriving arts community. In fact, the Fort Point Artist Community (FPAC), a non-profit organization supported by Grand Circle Foundation, was founded in 1980 and today boasts a membership of more than 200 artists who live and work in the Fort Point area.
One of those artists is Jenifer Mumford, who explored the Heart of India with OAT in February of 2008—and was so moved by her visit that she decided to capture her impressions of the country on canvas. On January 14, 2010, Jenifer’s colorful and evocative artwork debuted in a “Visions of India” exhibit at the FPAC Gallery.
Although her studio is just a stone’s throw away from the OAT office, Jenifer first heard about OAT from friends Ellen and David Rich, 3-time travelers and Vacation Ambassadors from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The couple was so enthusiastic about their previous trips with OAT that Jenifer and her husband, David, decided to join the Riches on their next adventure, to northern India. Jenifer reports that the foursome enjoyed every minute of their experience: “Our trip was as wonderful as was advertised—if not better,” she says, “and our Trip Leader was so well informed and fun.” Among the couples’ moments were surprise visits to local weddings, catching sight of a Bengal tiger in Ranthambore National Park, and being in the holy city of Varanasi during festival time.
As Jenifer explains, traveling provides continual inspiration for her artwork, which includes paintings, drawings, and photography as well as collage and encaustic designs. “When I visit a foreign land,” she says, “I notice the visual elements which are different from my life and which lend themselves to stories and mythologies that I both hear and sense all around me. Through symbols of the religious life of the people, the structural details of buildings (religious and domestic), and the colors and shapes which meet the eye at every turn, I come away with small impressions of the life lived there.”
As she puts it, “When you travel out of your comfort zone it happens that you really begin to see in a different way, and it is the struggle to put form to these visions that I find so interesting.”
Here's just a sampling of some of Jenifer's paintings currently on exhibit:
Varanasi
Bamboo Curtain
Gateway
Indian Dreams 1
Indian Dreams 2
Indian Dreams 3
Rickshaw
For a closer look at Jenifer’s “Visions of India” paintings, visit the Fort Point Artist Community Gallery at 12 Farnsworth Street in Boston.
To see more examples of Jenifer’s work—and learn more about the philosophies that inform them—visit her website.