Jimmy Jeffreys was born in Seoul, South Korea. He came to the United States when he was four years old. He was born with a congenital mutation called Phocomelia. He is missing both of his legs. He was adopted into an American family. His adoptive father had a rare congenital bone condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, (OI). His dad's condition was commonly known as "Brittle Bone Disease". He also used a wheelchair for mobility, and he was a cabinet maker. His mother was a nurse. Jimmy grew up in a very large family. There were a total of nine children, six of whom had disabilities, ranging from Polio to Spina Bifida.
On occasion, people have approached Jimmy with heavy hearts when they realized that he was born without legs. For him, it had the opposite impact. It gave him a sense of adventure and opportunity! It was not a disadvantage. In fact, it built up his self esteem, and gave him a healthy outlook on life. Instead of shying away from the attention, he was attracted to it. He enjoyed being the center of inquiry.
With illustration, Jimmy was a comic book and cartoon enthusiast. As a young boy, he watched Saturday morning cartoons like the Hanna-Barbera characters Dasterdly and Muttley, Space Ghost and The Herculoids. When he was in high school and college, he was influenced by comic book characters like The Incredible Hulk and Batman. Because of this introduction to this imaginary realm, comics had a significant impact on his artistic style. Jimmy was educated at William Paterson University in New Jersey.
Adventures with Ted has been seen in three separate publications, Amplitude Magazine's E-newsletter, the Passaic County Pulse newspaper, and last but not least, his own comic book.
You can find Ted on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, as well as LinkedIn.
EDUCATION
2004, MFA in the Visual Arts, William Paterson University.
1991, BFA in Fine Art, William Paterson University.
AWARDS
1986-1988, Academic Tiffany Scholarship for the Arts.
PUBLICATIONS
2019-Present, "Adventures with Ted" comic book publication, premiere release, first edition.
2019-2020, Regular publication, Amplitude Magazine e-newsletter.
2019-2020, Regular publication, Passaic County Pulse newspaper.
2018, Featured article, “Jim & Ted’s Excellent Adventures”, Amplitude Magazine, May/June Edition.
EXHIBITIONS
2022, Art exhibition, Sussex County Community College, Gallery C, Newton, NJ.
2022, Exhibitor's table, Arts in the Park, Randolph, NJ.
2019, Art exhibition, Arts Unbound Gallery, Montclair, NJ.
2019, Exhibitor's table, Kids Comic Con, Bronx Community College, Bronx, NY.
2018, Art exhibition, Paterson Museum, Paterson, NJ.
INVITED TALKS
2018, Guest speaker, Kids Comic Con, Bronx Community College, Bronx, NY.
2007-2012, Speaker and panel member, New Jersey Governor’s Conference on Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities.