By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
When viewing one of Jane Feild’s many sculptures, one lingers for a while, soaking in the striking iridescent beauty and color. Her subjects cover almost anything from a dog to sea creatures and even an ice cream cone (commissioned for an ice cream shop) but mostly her fish and other sea creatures are her signature subjects.
It is the glittering glass mosaics that make her work special and a delight to look at from every angle while marveling at the painstaking artistry.
“When I lived at the Lake, I was the ” Fish” lady, as I had a large 4-foot fish hanging from a tree in my front yard. Lots of stepping stones in my garden.” Feild currently lives in Fox Hollow but still maintains a home at the Lake.
Not surprising is it takes her a month to make one of her creations. But these are large- scale works. She is planning on making smaller and more affordable pieces in the future.
“The dog was challenging due to having to capture personality as well as likeness, and tight hard-to-reach places and the ice cream cone, I can’t even go there,” she said. “The octopus was difficult because of the tight small places and pieces but was so much fun due to the freedom of creativity. I was told to just use my imagination. Lots of people are really specific.”
Mainly a painter earlier in life, but as soon as she started with mosaics Field says she was hooked and found her niche.
“I liked painting and the finished piece, but the process is so much more fun to me. It’s intuitive and spontaneous. I’m always discovering something that works out that I hadn’t expected! It just personally works for me. It’s my happy place.”
When she was 16, she attended Interlochen Arts Academy, where she became excited about creating ceramic sculptures. She then attended Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts as a painting and printmaking major. She has exhibited her award-winning work (mostly painting, drawing, and photography) in many shows, fairs, and juried exhibitions. And some are exhibited at a gallery in Mathews, Virginia where her parents had lived on the Chesapeake Bay. She said most of the fish and sea life she sells go to beach towns, and places in New England and Florida.
She said while she was experimenting with glitter and metallic paint, her paintings started to resemble mosaics. She then moved to creating glass collage, with an underpainting and glass on top, with no grout. She then began creating both two dimensional and sculptural mosaics.
“Working with glass and mirror as mediums is so visually exciting, as glass is inherently beautiful, and mirror takes on the color of its reflection. The pieces become chameleons, ever-changing with light and viewpoint. I am not only using color, form, and light, but also reflection and the actual patterns in the glass. It’s a culmination of many elements to make a piece that is beautiful,” she said.
Though it’s a matter of supply and demand and some can scrape out a decent living in fine arts it’s not easy and very competitive with customers relating to certain items. That is the reason most take on a second career in art while they work or after they retire. Feild was a single mom while managing her cleaning business for 22 years, and is currently a realtor with Long and Foster at Lake Monticello. Her 23 yr old son Cable, is also following in her footsteps and currently has a photograph at Korkran Gallery and was accepted into a juried exhibition. But for Feild, it is not only a passion for art but the joy she derives from the creative process.
She works mostly by commission, creating all types of requested creatures. Her prices vary according to size and difficulty. She adds she gives local discounts to Fluvannians.
“Make a request and I’ll do my best to create what you want.” To see more of Jane Feild’s work visit http://seajanestudios.etsy.com/.
