Jeanne Simmons

Jeanne was born in coastal New Hampshire and grew up in a raucous household with four siblings. She graduated from the Maine College of Art in 1991 with a BFA in Sculpture. Upon graduating, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

In 1992, Jeanne moved to Chicago to attend graduate school at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She couldn’t cope with city life, so she drove west, eventually settling on Vashon Island, WA, where she later met her husband, Gunter Reimnitz, who is also a sculptor.

Jeanne and Gunter moved to Port Townsend, WA in 1999, where they raised their two beautiful kids. Jeanne worked as a youth services associate in local libraries for 11 years. She almost gave up on her lifelong dream of being an artist in 2017 when she decided to become a professional librarian instead, enrolling in graduate school to pursue her MLS. Just then her life’s passion—making things—bubbled up (see Grass Cocoon) and was irrepressible. Jeanne left her library job in 2019, quit library school, and jumped back into making art, with both feet, and her whole heart.

Jeanne’s work has been featured in numerous national and international publications. She is currently working with filmmaker Ward Serrill (The Bowmakers and The Heart of the Game) on a film about her work and process.