Artist’s Statement:
I appreciate both the versatility and the challenges of the mosaic medium. I value the meditative aspect of making mosaic art — shaping or choosing the individual pieces and then laying them in place. While working on a mosaic, I frequently create a story, which often emerges only as the mosaic progresses.
Glass holds great appeal to me because of its reflective variability. Stained glass was the first material I used when I began working in mosaics. I’ve now expanded my materials to include smalti, marble, stone, ceramics, beads, shell, and recycled objects — all of which have varied reflective qualities which differ from stained glass. Finding the most effective material, color, and placement for each bit in a mosaic is a satisfying challenge. I am always on the lookout for other possibilities, and sometimes use natural materials, such as seeds and woods.
I often create intuitively, but other times will meticulously follow carefully made plans. I often combine those two approaches. I look to create relationships or “conversations” between the various elements of the piece I am creating.
While I enjoy stretching or reshaping reality to match my vision, science and the natural world are frequently my starting point. Nevertheless, I like ambiguity, and enjoy thinking about the varied reactions that my mosaics may elicit from viewers.
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Bio/Resume:
Jane was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She worked as a school psychologist in the East Bay until she retired and discovered a love for the colors, textures, and reflective light of glass mosaics. She spends her time making mosaics, enjoying family and friends, and taking in the beauty and culture of the Bay Area.
Jane often creates a story for each of her mosaics, a story that is written in her mind as the creation progresses. With her background in psychology, she often thinks of her art as a playful inkblot test involving nature, ambiguity, abstractionism, and surrealism. She is delighted when people see something in her work that she hadn't herself considered or intended.
Jane exhibited her work at Burning Man 2013 and her “Fire Dance” mosaic was subsequently featured at the Burning Man headquarters in San Francisco. Her mosaics were selected for inclusion in the 2016 juried Contemporary Mosaic Artists Summit Exhibition in Ashland, Oregon, and in the 2017 Left Coast Juried Exhibition at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, California.
Jane was selected to participate in the 2018 San Francisco General Hospital Foundation's fundraiser, "Hearts in San Francisco" series. She contributed by mosaicing one of the 17" heart sculptures. Sales of the Hearts raise funds for vital initiatives at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
Jane currently lives with her husband in Pleasant Hill, California.
Exhibitions, Shows, Galleries:
Snapshot Mosaics, Oakland, California, 2012
Institute of Mosaic Art, Berkeley, California, 2013
Burning Man, Black Rock City, Nevada, 2013
Burning Man Decompression, San Francisco, California, 2013
Burning Man Headquarters, San Francisco, California, 2014, 2015
Diablo Fine Art Gallery, Walnut Creek, California, 2015
Contemporary Mosaic Artists Summit Juried Mosaic Exhibition, Ashland, Oregon, 2016
Stained Glass Garden, Berkeley, California, 2016
Martinez Art Gallery, Martinez, California, 2016
Placerville Art Gallery, Placerville, California, 2016 - present
2017 Left Coast Annual Juried Exhibition, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, California, 2017
Art Cottage, Concord, California, 2018, 2022, 2023
Concord Art Association Memories Exhibition, San Ramon, California, 2018
San Francisco General Hospital Hearts & Heroes, San Francisco, California, 2018
Art League of Lincoln gift shop, Lincoln, California, 2021 to present
CMA2 Summer Showcase 2021 Invitational Exhibition (on-line), 2021
mARTinez Arts Creates Exhibit, Main Street Arts Gallery, Martinez, California, 2021
Stained Glass Garden Autumn show, Berkeley, California, 2021
LocalArtistsRock.com. Online gallery, Concord, California, 2021
Abstract Reasoning juried exhibition, Diablo Valley College, Concord, CA, 2022
Valley Art Gallery, Walnut Creek, 2023 to present
7th Annual Mosaic Show, Bandon Library Art Gallery, Bandon, OR, 2023