Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenna Tico
Hi Jenna, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. In elementary school, that took the shape of intricate Olsen Twin mysteries– hand illustrated, of course– that I threw away in an adolescent purge, only to find years later had been recovered by my dad. (Thanks, dad). Youthful mysteries soon merged into sad, emo-girl poetry and sprawling essays that explored a different kind of mystery; namely, how it is that we human beings can feel so much and yet know so little. I’d say my writing “evolved” in adulthood, but really, it has all been an extension of that common thread: feeling it all, in shock and awe, wanting to solve for x (with or without an Olsen sidekick) and then finally resolving to never fully have it figured out. After years working in other artistic disciplines, and dabbling in both technical and grant writing as a career, I released my debut memoir– Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life– in September 2024 via She Writes Press. Now a mother of two, I feel grateful to have a tangible tribute to the decade that both shaped and threatened to destroy me– the turbulent, magical, messy twenties.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of all the mediums I choose to explore for my artistic creation, writing is the most maddening and rewarding. No practice has the potential of freeing me more, nor leaving me more satisfied– and yet, with the exception of a few “flash in the pan” moments where writing just pours out, I find it to be a giant slog. Like most writers say, discipline is key. And like most writers, I remember this fact, and then order cheese fries and scroll on the internet and bash my head into the desk for at least one hour out of every three that I set aside to work.
One of the other struggles I continually encounter as a working artist has to do with making money. Especially living in Southern California, where the cost of living– not to mention, raising kids — seems to grow by the day. Not only that, the existential quandary seems to surface quite regularly: if I make my art my “job,” does that kill the magic? Does putting financial pressure on it threaten to squash the muse? Even though becoming a mother has made my life infinitely more busy (and expensive), it has also pushed me to ask these questions of myself, and ultimately come back to the fact that I want to be an example for my kids — and sometimes, that means getting very clear on the “why” behind my work. Would I make this, even if it never made a dime? Am I making it because my soul needs me to? If the answer is yes, I know I’m on the right track.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I call myself a “Renaissance Man,” because
a) I am not a man, so it cracks me up, and
b) it sounds better than saying “all over the place.” In truth, I am all over the place, and always have been.
I bounce from artistic medium to artistic medium because I find them all to be interconnected. My work as a professional dancer and choreographer led me to do a counseling training, diving into the art of mental health and facilitation, which led me to storytelling, which has led me to community music production, and infinite other practices that help harness the tales that need to be told. Writing has been the consistent through my life, my forever partner, and helps me more than any other medium to make sense of the world — particularly my inner world.
I am especially proud of the work I’ve done to galvanize more storytelling community in Santa Barbara through Backbone Storytelling, which is a monthly community story slam with themes based around the human body. It never ceases to amaze me how rich our stories are, how a common thread emerges even when names are pulled at random. I’m left feeling like, at our root, people are really GOOD and care about one another — which feels like a balm for my heart.
Any big plans?
Right now, I am walking the tightrope of mothering two young children while also staying true to my need to keep creating art! While my time is more limited now, that also makes it feel more precious, and I find nothing lights a fire under my ass quite like the “welp, it’s 11 am and I have exactly forty minutes before the baby wakes up, let’s see what happens.” Outside of writing, my future plans continue to include community event production and storytelling. I’ve also been co-producing a series of decade-themed concerts in Santa Barbara called “Whatever Forever,” which has been scratching a deep itch to gather in community and DANCE. It has taken me a lot of watching and learning from disaster response to really understand the role that music (especially dance music) plays in allowing us to feel, heal, and move energy following shock or loss. Most recently, we had 380 people turn out to dance to early 2000’s hits in the week of the LA fires. I was concerned that hosting a show would be in bad taste, or that people wouldn’t be “ready” to dance, but I was wrong — our community showed us that now more than ever, they needed to feel held and to release in a safe, loving space. I believe grief and praise go hand in hand, that community aid can take many forms, and I’m excited to keep creating spaces where others feel invited to express their fullest selves.
Pricing:
- Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life, $17.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jennatico.com
- Instagram: @jennaticowrites
Image Credits
Carly Otness
Lerina Winter
