Having lived the life of an artist’s child, The BearMaiden (Jesi Kelley) vowed that she would never be an artist. She had fairly meaningful careers in media sales and technology support spanning 14 years and for a while commanded the highest salary any Kelley had ever made. However, the noncreative life nearly pushed her to insanity and one lovely August day she walked off a job in the hedge fund industry.  One month later, the World Trade Center fell and she took that as her cue to succumb to destiny, rejoining the family business. At age 39, she was accepted at Pratt Institute to study graphic design and illustration. She freelances as a designer, but mostly she makes photographs. Citing Weegee and Cartier-Bresson as her influences, she seeks to tell a story within each image. She also writes, because it’s in her blood. She and her one son relocated to the Bronx from Harlem, upstairs from the Contributors.