Jacqueline May has always lived in Texas. A bit of a misfit in her conservative state, she feels she was simply born to be creative. Following many years of private instruction in painting, and childhood piano lessons, she attended the University of North Texas, receiving a BFA in Painting and Drawing, and taking lots of dance classes and creative writing. She worked at Mexic-Arte Museum, a Latino arts institution, for seven years before leaving the security of a regular job to become a full time creator, participating in numerous exhibitions including many years in the East Austin Studio Tour. In the interim she traveled through much of Latin America. She has continued to have a private painting studio to the present time, and has also worked as an arts writer for the Austin Chronicle.

In around 2001, following a lifetime of passionate listening to music and acquiring a music library, Jacqueline decided her life was not complete without actually participating in music. Despite having had only childhood music instruction, she plucked up her courage and returned to it. She began receiving cello instruction that year, and has continued to take lessons in the 15 years since. During her travels, she happened across a new acquaintance who told her that Bobby McFerrin’s Circlesongs workshop was one of the most joyful experiences of her life. In 2013 she followed that advice, going to the workshop at the Omega Institute in Rheinbeck, NY, challenging herself to grow her vocal skills, and continued attending for two more consecutive years. During the intervals she added music theory classes to her instructional menu. In Austin she attended Susan Lincoln’s wonderful Hildegirls group for five sessions. After a short stint performing in a band, she explored songwriting and is currently recording an album of her own original songs. She would never have dreamed this could be possible, but so it is.

Jacqueline is also a long-term committed visual artist, an avid gardener, loves to travel, is a regular meditator and dancer, enjoys vegetarian cuisine, and is pretty into her cats.