Artist Bio
Janet was born in Los Angeles and spent much of her early years moving around the country. She moved to Washington DC in 1978 to study Thai before moving to Bangkok and later to the small town of Khon Kaen in the Northeast. After returning to the U.S. She eventually settled in the Wood River Valley in 1995 where she now works from her studio in Indian Creek.
Janet began her career twenty years ago as a textile artist using hand dyed fabric to make large abstract wall hangings. She was fascinated by the chemical process of dyeing – the way fiber molecules and dye molecules exchange places when soda ash is introduced, thus fusing the color onto fabric. Borrowing from the ancient Japanese art of Shibori, Janet used clamping and folding techniques to add visual texture and pattern. Color is manipulated and made more complex by the process of overdyeing.
After completing a 45-piece series which required sewing over 350,000 inches, Janet retired her dyes and moved on to painting in oil and cold wax. She continues to paint non-objective work rich in complex color and texture.
Her work hangs in homes in Sun Valley, Seattle, San Francisco, Italy and Turkey.
Artist Statement
I most often work on large wood panels, sometimes paper. I begin each piece with various marks using graphite, ink and paint. I frequently use home made tools – sticks, feathers, pinecones, as well as scrapers and brushes. Although these marks and colors will likely be covered as different layers are applied, I know they are there to be exposed later in the process by scraping, sanding, or gouging back into the paint. Through the process of addition and subtraction, the painting gradually matures. Often unexpected things appear. It is the serendipitous nature of this process that fires my imagination.