A native of Penn Yan, New York, in the heart of the Finger Lakes, J. M. Snyder graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology School of Art and Design in Rochester, New York in 1953. Upon graduation, she married and moved to Corning, New York, home to Corning, Inc. and the famous Corning Museum of Glass.

Getting started in a new community took time and patience. She began by designing notecards, calendars and other publicity materials for city merchants, teaching art classes for adults and children, and rendering detailed pen and ink drawings of landmarks and private homes.  Most notable were her pen and ink drawings for Corning, Inc. and other local institutions. Portraits of people and pets also became popular, with pastels being the chosen medium.

J. M. Snyder has also donated proceeds from her pet portraits to the local Humane Society and East Coast Farm Sanctuary.

Today, J. M. Snyder has found an engrossing new subject to explore -- the ABSTRACT...

"A desire to embrace complete creativity sprung forth becoming

a personal reflection inside the world of forms and color around us.

I do not know what I am saying while I apply paint to the canvas.

It is like a foreign language until I realize it is finished.

Then the study begins." 

J. M. Snyder