Janey Skeer has been involved in the art scene in Denver for more than 20 years. She set up shop at Artists on Santa Fe gallery as a studio artist and has invited visitors into her world since the beginning.That's why she was a perfect artist to demonstrate in the Mud Studio this summer.That's why she was a perfect artist to demonstrate in the Mud Studio this summer.
Every weekend through September 18, artists will be on-site in the Mud Studio demonstrating various clay processes. Janey is particularly excited to invite visitors to experience for themselves what can be done with clay. "After they see the show and what I can do with this material, I want people to be shocked and awed," says Janey. "I'm hoping that by seeing a real person work with clay, it will bring them closer to what they're seeing in the exhibition and enhance their interest."Janey attended the University of Colorado, then moved to southern California and worked for a newspaper before settling in Seattle and returning to school.
When she returned to Denver she started teaching art and English. That's when she had her first encounter with clay. "The one art material I had never worked with was clay. When I returned to Colorado, I got my first substitute teaching job in Boulder and, what do you know, it was a clay art class," Janey recalls. "I walked in knowing nothing but was blown away by their studio. It had wheels and a kiln. I thought it was magic. Clay was magic."
Janey was hooked and she soon got a job teaching ceramics at a Lakewood high school. Eventually she returned to school to get her masters of fine art in ceramics and has been working in the medium and teaching at local institutions, like the Art Students League, ever since.
Janey will be demonstrating hand-building and clay stamps August 13, 14, 20, and 21. Stop by and see the various ways she hand-builds clay to create intricately textured artwork. She'll also have a selection of her stamps on hand to demonstrate the responsiveness of clay to any material it touches. "With my processes, participants will get to dig in and see the possibilities that arise with clay," says Janey. "I hope that one or two of them will be hooked like me."