Full Circle with the Artist
Jan Craft considers herself a Metalsmith because she works with a variety of metals on a variety of scales. She creates jewelry and sculpture. Her sculpture ranges from table top, wall sculpture, floor pieces 12 feet tall, and several public commissions as large as 29 feet tall. Craft has a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Jewelry and Sculpture from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in jewelry and metalsmithing from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She also spent a two month concentration study at the prestigious Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC. Her work has been represented in galleries nationally and internationally, as well as featured in international magazines such as Metalsmith, American Craft, Korean Craft, and The Anvil’s Ring. She has also taught jewelry and sculpture in several colleges and universities.
The majority of Craft’s work is constructed in a circular form. Her thought process is more intuitive, rather than a studied or contemplative one. Craft uses the circular form as a framework to derive from. She appreciates its simplicity, which lends itself to be used freely without becoming intrusive of the materials, shapes, and forms introduced within. The circle is a basic shape used in many cultures to symbolize similar ideas… perfection, harmony, motion, cycles, balance, life, and unity. The circle is also symbolic of nature because of her continuous and ever present cycles and processes. Many of Craft’s concepts introduced within the circle are abstractions of landscapes: metal rods to suggest horizon lines, textures and colors, and space above the horizon lines to embody skyscapes.
The materials combined in Craft’s work range from steel, sterling silver, gold, and gold leaf to rust and other weathered materials-from precious to the rustic. She views the rust in her pieces as being as visually rich as the gold. Craft also selects from a unique collection of components: glass, rubber, wood, anodized aluminum, titanium, and paint to add detail. These materials and elements prompt the viewer’s interest and focus, and draw them in to study a bit closer. This, in turn, creates an interaction with the viewer. Her desire to incorporate unexpected materials and fine details in her work comes from her experience as a jeweler, as well as a sculptor. The concept is what she values most about her work. The materials chosen are her added contribution to make each piece unique and captivating.
Craft’s jewelry and sculpture are composed from the same concept, yet on different scales. The sculpture enhances interiors and landscapes for display, while the jewelry enhances the beauty of the human body.
Jan Craft - In her Studio
