Chestnut Hill “spiritual artist” Jesse White, who founded the acclaimed arts organization Pigeon Arts in 2008, is exhibiting her work as part of the Joined Hands Artists Collective in a show on display through Oct. 10 at Allens Lane Art Center. A reception and artists’ talk are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The 14-year-old Joined Hands Artists Collective is a group of artists, currently all women, working in a wide variety of mediums.

White, who grew up in lower Northeast Philadelphia, admits she was something of a neighborhood misfit — a hippie kid in the 1980s, in a blended family with two moms. She says she was lucky to always attend schools outside of her neighborhood including Frankford Friends School, Masterman and Central High School, and to have friendships with smart, creative and diverse students across Philadelphia. She has lived in many neighborhoods in and around the city (Lawncrest, Frankford, Germantown, Mt. Airy, West Philly, Southwest Philly) and now calls Chestnut Hill home.

“The first thing I noticed about living in Chestnut Hill is that I breathe easier here,” she told the Local last week. “I feel a sense of sanctuary. I deeply appreciate the varied homes, the trees, the shops, galleries, bookstores and restaurants close to home. I have met such nice neighbors. And I am tapping into Chestnut Hill’s creative communities that celebrate fine arts, poetry and music.

“What is most important to me in my visual art and my writing is that I express an emotive narrative,” she continued. “I want the viewer/reader to feel the impact of the story. I especially enjoy painting stories that include people and spirit’s work through us.”

White’s educational achievements include two bachelor degrees (integrative studies and psychology) from Guilford College, in Greensboro, N.C., a master’s degree in healthcare administration from American Intercontinental University, and certificates in transitional life coaching and LGBTQ+ Safe Zone training.

White’s work experience includes roles as an expressive arts therapist, a spirituality-based transitional life coach, arts administrator, curator, archivist and museum conservation assistant. As a teaching artist, she has worked with organizations such as Resources for Human Development, Artwell, BuildaBridge, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Blooming Peace Art Center.

“I have known three spiritual callings in my life: to create, teach and heal,” said White, who calls herself a spiritual arts doula. “My Quaker faith and practice greatly inform my vocation and my own life journey, as do my experiences of spiritual practices from outside my faith tradition. I believe we each can be in relationship with God and be guided by what is holy, as we each have a piece of divinity within us. In life, we find we are almost always in a journey, filled with transitions and transformations. I have come to understand that my current path includes helping others cross the thresholds of change they desire.”

“It is interesting to be in transition myself as I witness, honor and support others’ transitions,” she continued. “At age 49, my body’s chemistry has completely changed, and I require significant medical support to manage a large collection of chronic physical and neurodiverse health needs. I find that I need to work less often and in sprints of time. In doing this, I am able to be more present with my clients and my creative work, and I am better able to care for myself in the ways I now require. I am discovering new ways of doing, being, resting and renewing.”

Regarding her artistic sensibilities, White very much admires the work of artists including Odilon Redon (“brilliant and vibrant color choices, mythology”), Ida Applebroog (“moving themes with paintings exhibited as sculpture”), Alice Neal (“perfectly imperfect portraiture”), Vincent Van Gogh (“Brush strokes! Color! Emotion!”), Basquiat (“compositionally genius”), Hildegard of Bingen (“mysticism and storytelling”) … and all members of the Joined Hands Artists Collective.

“My concept of ‘success’ looks very different from what I imagined in my past,” she said. “Success is finding flow in my creative work — losing a sense of time and place — which is incredibly rewarding and healing. Success is guiding program participants and clients in making authentic discoveries about themselves and integrating that learning into their lives. ... While I do not exist presently with financial security due to the demands of my ongoing health struggles, I am deeply present in my own life journey and relationships. I practice gentleness with myself, and I know that despite my own struggles, I am immensely blessed.”

White also teaches altered bookmaking at Blooming Peace Art Center in Glenside (bloomingpeace.com) on Saturdays. For more information, visit pigeonarts.org or email spiritualartsdoula@gmail.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.