I was born, raised and educated in Suffolk, England. I was a Ceramics major at The West of England College of Art in Bristol where I spent three years learning about clay, following two years of learning about the fundamentals of art. Later, I was introduced to vitreous enamel by Elizabeth Turrell with whom I studied for several years prior to moving to the States in 1994. Teaching has been an important and especially rewarding part of most of my adult life and continues to be as I teach part-time at The Beverley Street Studio School in Staunton Virginia.
Vitreous Enamel on copper has been my main focus of work for about twenty-five years. This process demands working at temperatures of 1500F to fuse powdered glass to metal. Once the work is in the kiln, which is only for a few seconds for each firing, all control over the work is relinquished. As a result, one learns that risk taking and chance is a valid place to go within the creative process. Each piece of copper is fired many times, sometimes as many as twenty. Each firing adds new color and texture to the work.
My fascination with both paint and enamel is surface. It is the materials and their unique characteristics that hold my attention. The subject matter is the means by which I interact with the copper or the canvas. Recent work for both Enamels and Painting have been closely inspired by the work of The Indigenous Australians whose work and close connection to the Earth interests me deeply. Most current work is taken from photographs and drawings while traveling in Australia.
My clay work is less frequent in recent yeas due to lack of facilities for firing. However, whenever I have the opportunity, I feel as though I have arrived home as I manipulate the texture and form of three-dimensional surface that is always sculptural. The forms are often a direct connect to my 2D work.
Website
http://www.janlyjaggard.com
