Artist Statement
I am a studio artist living in two places. I love the intensity of the natural environment of each place and the contrast between them. The south shore of Lake Superior holds magical water, dense forests and lush vegetation, while the southwest provides an arid desert, rugged mountains mixed with native cultures. My mixed media, fiber sculpture, paintings and drawings reflect the emotions I feel in these places.
Experimentation plays a big role in my personal approach to art. It is through experimentation that I begin each of my pieces. Many times I join a variety of techniques and materials together to arrive at unique conceptual work. Whether it’s found objects in the natural environment or man-made materials, my goal is to allow the piece to develop, given the characteristics of the materials and the influences from my environment. I must give up total control of any former or preconceived ideas, old habits, or new successes. Only then do the materials, the techniques, the form, and the ideas from my surroundings take charge and become what they will to create unusual mixed media collages, introspective fiber structures or thought provoking paintings and drawings. When this happens, I become aware of something different in the work . . . something that I had not seen before. This is exciting and refreshing, and to me it is the essence of creativity.
Jane Herrick