Through painting, improv, and teaching, Jackie Gianico champions everyday creativity
By Karen Dabney
Jackie Gianico believes everyone can be creative. In her “Cheers to Art” sip-and-paint classes at The Arena Bar and Grill, she breaks the painting process down into doable steps and helps people move past any anxiety they have, so they can complete paintings of their own.
“I truly believe we can all create, but it takes a different way of looking — having an open mind, trusting the process, and breaking it down into basic shapes.”
Gianico has built a life that blends education and the arts. She teaches writing and public speaking as an associate teaching professor in Penn State’s departments of Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences.
Beyond the classroom, she performs with the Happy Valley Improv Company, and one of her paintings, “I Can’t Right Now,” is currently featured in the Palmer Museum of Art’s exhibit “Dreaming American Futures: Invitational 250.” Yet the life she has built in State College looks different from the one she imagined when she first arrived.
Originally from upstate New York, Gianico moved to State College in 2009 to pursue a Ph.D. in applied linguistics, planning to become a professor. But when she turned 30, that plan no longer seemed like the right fit.
For Gianico, 2012 became a year of reinvention. Although her academic plans had changed, her passion for teaching had not.
After leaving the Ph.D. program, she accepted a teaching job in Penn State’s Intensive English Communication Program. The same year, she also decided to do something she’d always been terrified to do: audition for community theater.
She landed roles in two State College Community Theatre productions that summer.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “I caught the bug and have been part of the art community since then.”
Sip-and-Paint Classes
Last year, Gianico celebrated 10 years of teaching “Cheers to Art” sip-and-paint classes at The Arena Bar and Grill. Many are fundraisers for organizations and nonprofits, which receive a portion of the class fees. She also leads private parties and events — her “Paint with Jackie” classes.
The Arena classes began when two managers set up sip-and-paint classes taught by local artists every other Wednesday at 6 p.m. After leading a class, she says, “People wanted me to come back. So I kept coming back for 10 years. It has been the most unexpected, unplanned joy in my life.
“People tell me they’re interested in art now, and show me what they’ve been working on. We started getting local community groups doing fundraising. … I feel so fortunate to do what I do.”
She grew up watching Bob Ross on PBS’ “The Joy of Painting.”
“Bob Ross taught me everything I know,” she says.
Prior to each class, Gianico paints a model of the picture in acrylic paint on canvas to show the class.
Students preregister online so she can bring enough acrylic paints, brushes, and canvases. Then they pay a cover charge for the class at the door. All materials are provided, and the students can buy food and drinks to enjoy as they paint.
During the class, Gianico creates a second version of the painting, taking the students through the process, step by step as they follow along. She circulates around the room frequently to answer questions and offer encouragement.
“A lot of people say they had an art teacher who was strict, telling students, ‘you’re doing it wrong.’
“I tell them there’s no wrong way. … I really like what you’re doing.”
Palmer Exhibit
One of Gianico’s paintings, “I Can’t Right Now,” is in the current Palmer Museum exhibit, “Dreaming American Futures: Invitational 250.” She requires her Penn State students to visit the museum for their writing. There, she saw the call for entries. Two days before the deadline, she created and submitted her painting of a weary mother sitting with a small child.
“I wanted to show the exhaustion of motherhood. … The emotional and mental domestic labor, unpaid and unrecognized, and the load. She’s [the mother in the painting] literally getting pushed down by it.
“I was floored that it got accepted. … I’m really proud of it.”
Happy Valley Improv
In 2017, Penn State’s Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence offered a faculty workshop, “Improv for Pedagogy,” taught by Happy Valley Improv. Gianico realized, “I have to do this.”
She says, “This changed my life. I auditioned to be a company member a year or so later and have been doing it ever since.” She also leads acting improvisation workshops for Happy Valley Improv.
Gianico says, “The core tenet of improv is ‘Yes, and.’ Something happens; we consider it and build on it or move forward from it. … It’s all about connections, to me.”
Whether she is teaching, painting, or performing, Gianico hopes to make creativity feel accessible to everyone.
“When we make art, we make a difference. I believe that with my soul.” T&G
Karen Dabney is a freelance writer in State College.
