Rising Stars: Meet Jamie Lee Hoffer of West Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Lee Hoffer

Hi Jamie Lee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As an artist, I continuously create. I am also a preschool teacher for the toddler program at our school. When COVID-19 happened, and we had to drop everything and isolate ourselves, my co-teacher and I were in a predicament. How do we continue the interaction and support the development of this very special and vital age group while not being in front of them? We Zoomed but quickly realized we had to switch gears to keep these toddlers interested. Screen time is a tricky subject. Many parents, including myself, feel the need to hold back on screen time for as long as possible, but in situations like this, the need to bend is essential. We kept the weekly Zoom time for the parents and started a private FaceBook page for the kids. As we increased our little productions, other parents began asking to be invited to the FaceBook page, but because it was private for our classes only, I started my own. Then I made a puppet, “Pickles,” and just like that, Giggles and Stardust was born. I put down my brushes and began to create in a very different way!

For the last five years, I’ve hosted Giggles and Stardust, a preschool-age “Edutainment” YouTube channel fueled by curiosity, encouragement, and fun. My puppets and I share stories about emotions, the earth, and music, and we dance and do art in an environment that supports exciting screen time without overstimulating. I have written five self-published children’s books, have an LP of original children’s songs, and have, at this point, four 28-minute episodes and multiple individual videos.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Although it has been highly satisfying, it has been and continues to be a constant struggle with marketing. For me, being a creative person has its limitations. I am NOT good with business. There’s been a lot of trial and error – we are still working on it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I am not working on Giggles and Stardust, I am painting. I work in a medium called encaustic. Encaustic paint is a mixture of beeswax, damar resin, and pigment which is kept molten on a heated palette. I started working with the medium fifteen years ago. Before that, it was oil and acrylic. I love this medium. I may have an intention at the beginning of a painting, but the wax will say, “Look at this; where can you go, and what can we discover now?” The wax teaches me to be patient and open-minded – it leads me and I follow.

I have shown my work multiple times and have sold many pieces. I had a painting that I loved so much that I put a very high price tag on it. It recently sold for the listing price. I was amazed and very proud!

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Young adults starting out are far more informed and have easy access to more resources than we had. They know how to access this information with ease. They are ahead of the game. Still, there is something important about trial and error and experience. Learning from those who were there before you, as antiquated as it seems, is an essential learning tool. Skipping developmental steps can be detrimental, no matter how fast one wants to succeed. When it comes to art, do something every day and experiment without the pressure of creating a final piece. It is the doing part that is the art – that is the joy and adventure. The end piece itself is just proof that the work has been done. The minute you start creating to make a “masterpiece,” the piece itself will become a chore that blocks the joy and discoveries.

I wish I were aware enough to ask and learn about the business of fine art.

Contact Info:

• Website: jamieleehoffer.com. gigglesandstardust.com
• Youtube: gigglesandstardust