While living in Philadelphia, Gaylen worked in the office of Architects, Venturi and Scott Brown, joining a team of artists and architects involved in designing and constructing a large interactive children's exhibit called the "Treehouse" at the Philadelphia Zoo. She was also awarded a 1% federal grant for an outdoor sculpture in Buist Street Park, Yeadon, PA. After graduate study, Gaylen moved to Los Angeles, CA, and worked in the special effects field as a set designer, scene painter and stop-motion animator for the 1988 "Pee Wee Herman Christmas Special". Other Los Angeles clients included custom rug design for AGA Oriental Rugs, located in the Pacific Design Center, graphic design for Movieline Magazine and model/toy design for Shimohara Design. In 2003, Gaylen was accepted to the PA Council of the Arts artist-in residency grant program and can be found in the state directory of PA artists. Gaylen lives in Lancaster with her son, Wyatt, dogs, Rosie and Max, and cat Moe.
Although a versatile artist, currently Gaylen is focusing her artistic skill and creativity on portraiture, digital and mixed media collage, and murals. She has an extensive art teaching background including teaching design at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in Lancaster, PA (college level), and is a K-12 PA certified art teacher at the elementary level in Lancaster, PA. Many of the murals she has completed in the last few years have involved artist-in-residencies in schools where she has worked with the wider school community, developing the vision and theme and then working with student assistants who experience the artistic process from start to finish. "I really enjoy involving the client in the art-making process throughout the project" the artist states.