Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Jan Hopkins Lecture


Wednesday
April 13, 2011, 7:30PM

Shoreline Unitarian Church
14724 1st Avenue NE
Shoreline, WA 98155-6806
In the Chrysalis Bldg

Exploring Alternative Natural Materials



This presentation by Jan Hopkins is based on over 20 years of exploring and developing ways to process and make baskets and sculptural art from materials that are not thought of as either usable or as basketry materials. Jan found her niche working with alternative natural materials such as citrus peels, melon peels and sturgeon skin. Finding it was increasingly difficult to collect traditional materials, she started looking materials that could be collected in abundance. Starting with orange peels, she worked diligently for many years to make the material stable for the long term and continued the quest using alternative materials, eventually finding ways to work with grapefruit and melon peels. For over 20 years Jan has experimented and incorporated other materials like lunaria (silver dollar seed pod centers), sturgeon skin, lotus pod tops, various leaves, a variety of seeds and petals.

Jan states, “Each material has its own distinct qualities and I have developed many variations of processing and combining materials. Some materials work better together than others. I continue to use traditional natural materials in my work, but have found that I have more options when I have an unlimited unrestricted resource.”


Monday, April 4, 2011

Jan Hopkins @ SOFA NYC 2011



PARK AVENUE ARMORY, Park Avenue at 67th Street, New York, NY
Represented by Jane Sauer Gallery Santa Fe, NM, Booth 113

Opening night Gala April 13, 5:00-9:00PM
Expo dates: April 14-17th
for more information - visitor's info


"Her Achilles Heels"

Dimensions 7”x10”x4” each shoe, Date 2011, Material: Lunaria seed pod centers, weathered hydrangea petals, melon peel, yellow cedar bark and waxed linen

I overheard a young woman proclaim "I loved the idea of being in love". Like Achilles heel in Greek mythology, his vulnerable heel was his weak spot; when it comes to romantic love, the heart seems to be the weak spot. On the exterior of the shoes, I have written the infamous proclamation” I (eye) love the idea of being in love”. In the interior of the right shoe, there is a heart with a question mark and the words “mister right”. In the interior of the left shoe, there is a broken heart with the words “left behind”. There is an arrow on each heel symbolizing cupid’s arrow. And finally, there are eyes on the front of each shoe when placed together they are eyes that continue to look for love.


"Light in Darkness"

30"x18"x12", 2010, grapefruit peel, yellow cedar bark, ostrich shell beads and waxed linen.

As a child, I remember watching the dramatized story of Helen Keller “The Miracle Worker”. That movie left a life long impression and admiration of Helen Keller and the reason I included her in my Women Icon series. A woman who reached far beyond anyone’s expectations Helen Keller was the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. As I contemplated how to depict her in a sculpture, I wanted to include her words. I made Braille tablets made of grapefruit peel and beads that says “The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.” I also included arms with the sculpture because communication did not come from her ears or spoken word but by touch. The piece is very textural emphasizing the importance of the touch. The lace like cedar bark is a technique that I developed especially for this piece.

Jan @Jane Sauer Gallery