From the isolation of a pandemic comes the Art of J Positive

After losing his kitchen job during the pandemic and falling into a depressive funk, Joel Jamensky decided to try to turn his favourite pastime — art — into a business.

With the help of his parents, he launched Art by J Positive, a website where his neurodiversity is expressed in highly stylized paintings and designs, which are printed and sold on everything from T-shirts to coffee mugs.

On Sunday, Jamensky was working on a drawing of his hockey team, the Capital City Condors, which featured dozens and dozens of pucks.

“I like drawing hockey pucks,” said Jamensky, laughing.

Jamensky, 27, was born with Down syndrome, and like many people with development disabilities, he has struggled with the social isolation and boredom wrought by the pandemic.

Many of those with development disabilities have experienced emotional and behavioural issues because of the disruptions of the past three years, but there’s little research into their long-term effects.

Already challenged socially, Jamensky lost in the pandemic those things that brought both people and purpose into his life.

He had worked in Bridgehead’s central kitchen for five years, making sandwiches for downtown workers. But early in the pandemic, the job disappeared along with the city’s office workers. Meanwhile, his favourite art and education programs, which he used to attend in person, went online.

“Everything just shut down for him. There was no socializing or anything,” said his mother, Karen Faloon. “It was really hard on him. He got low, really low.”

The pandemic also represented an exceptional health threat to Jamensky. Studies have shown that people with Down syndrome experienced significantly higher hospitalization and mortality rates from COVID-19.

His parents became concerned as they saw their son become more inwardly focused and obsessive. So his father, a high-tech specialist, built a website, Art by J Positive, where Jamensky could tell his story, sell his artwork and engage with customers online. It launched last February.

“I like being famous,” Jamensky said of his business.

His father markets Jamensky’s work on Instagram and Facebook, and together they respond to every inquiry. Mostly pen drawings, Jamensky’s art tends to focus on himself and the people in his life: his family, his friends, his hockey teammates. He names and explains every picture.

Many of his pictures seek to explain the nature of love, his parents say.

Jamensky has sold $15,000 worth of merchandise through his Shopify-powered website in its first year of operation. The family donates 10 per cent of proceeds to local organizations that support individuals with developmental disabilities, such as the Capital City Condors.

His parents say the online art business has restored some of their son’s pride and self-confidence. “Everyone needs a purpose,” said Mark Jamensky. “So he has some of that back now. Now, he’s convinced he’s going to move out and get his own place.”