Jane Burton
Walnut Creek, CA
I create large-scale paintings and sculptures internationally for corporations and residential clients.
MessageToday: I create large-scale paintings and sculptures internationally for corporations and residential clients.
The Little Artist: Like most artists, I've been a maker since I was a little kid. One of my fondest memories is hanging with my dad in his workshop pouring plaster into red rubber molds to create an army of nativity figurines that we later painted in the Sunday school class he lead.
I loved to experiment and get dirty doing it. I worked with crayons, markers, paint, plaster, paper-mache, pipe cleaners, paper, nails, glue, wood, and oh, oh, glitter!
Education and Corporate Work: My degree was in fine art with an emphasis in painting. I had the privilege to study under Wayne Thiebaud, an incredible teacher and human being. After I graduated, however, I needed to make a living. So, I continued my education and fell in love with graphic design. My career took me to the corporate world where I found myself quickly moving away from the creative and into management.
Although I loved the people, I found it draining my soul.
Family, Sisters and Kids:
Moved in with my husband, Jim, and his daughter, Sarah, when Sarah was nine. Four years later we adopted another daughter, Caitlin, from Nashville; she was nine days old.
Life got busy!
One year my sister (there are four sisters) suggested a summer art camp called Ghost Ranch in Northern New Mexico where we could all vacation with our mom and kids. I took a class in American Indian pottery and learned how to form bowls and spiritual artifacts through coil building and firing in a large outdoor pit.
I fell in love with the whole process and the strong connection to the earth. It wasn't long before I finagled my husband's motorcycles out of the garage, filled it with kilns and built a sculpture and painting studio in the lower level of my home.
Transition Back:
After a number of years immersed in learning, I knew it was time to get real, to begin turning away from a world in which I had been successful, and give voice to my true nature. So, fifteen years ago, I went back full-time to my first love, my true voice.
Rewards:
My visual language allows me to go where words can’t in expressing the joy and the tranquility at my core. And, so, my daily struggle with the canvas before me is to get out of my head, to set thoughts and words aside and stream feelings directly. I use many tools beyond brushes... leaves, branches, mops, plastic, knives, wire, and most often, my hands. I still love to experiment and get dirty!
The process is like a piece of music, or a walk in the woods, it's a feeling of excitement, empowerment, and tranquility all mashed together. If I can maintain my focus, stay out of my head long enough, the resulting image is fresh, alive, evocative and fun.
Back into my head, I try to see the work as a new viewer might. Whether the viewer is a collector in their home enjoying the first cup of the day or a corporate employee hustling through the lobby after a harried commute, I am hopeful that my work will take them to the place inside themselves that is new and refreshing.
MY VISION:
My purpose is to use my creativity and enthusiasm to subliminally motivate others in their pursuit of personal fulfillment and abundance.
MY MISSION:
I create large-scale sculptures and paintings that portray a sense of joy, harmony, and empowerment for corporate and residential settings worldwide.
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