CINCINNATI — After years of addiction and poor choices, an up-and-coming Greater Cincinnati artist says art is “literally keeping her sane and sober.”

Down a steep staircase and into a dimly lit basement, you’ll find Jennifer Scheben’s escape — an unconventional art studio for an unconventional artist.  

“My artwork isn’t perfect. I’m not perfect,” Jennifer Scheben explained. “Some people have a therapist and I have my drawings."

After years of working in a high-stress environment, Scheben decided to leave corporate America to pursue art — a passion that she says she’s only recently picked up.

“I just started realizing that I had a lot of fragilities about me. I wanted to get those thoughts out of my head so I just started doodling more and more,” Scheben said.

Looking to escape temptation, Scheben turned to art because as the saying goes, “Idle hands are the devil’s tools,” especially to those in recovery.

Three years ago, Scheben put down the drink for good and picked up a Sharpie in its place. Now, in her small basement studio is where she transforms her doodles into magical pieces of art.

“To know that there is an outlet is the most important thing,” Scheben says. "There are other areas that you can turn to besides a drink or whatever your addiction may be. Me? Yeah, I still have addictions. My addictions are drawing and tattoos.”

Scheben’s most recent tattoo is her birth moon representing her rebirth and her new life. To Scheben, each of these “doodles” are more than pen to paper or pen to skin. To Scheben, they’re each and every time she’s chosen art over addiction.

“You can be suffering with whatever you’re suffering from but always know there’s a way out. I did it, and I know that other people can do it, too.”

Scheben recently opened her own company to display and sell her many works of art.

To see more of Scheben's artwork, visit her website at abstractyourmind.com