JANE A. EVANS

LANDSCAPE ARTIST

ABOUT

CV

CURRENT and UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS:

Jane A. Evans – Saskatchewan Craft Council (saskcraftcouncil.store)

REPRESENTED BY:

Dandelion Gallery, Saskatoon, SK

Saskatchewan Craft Council Boutique Gallery

Network for Art Collecting (SK NAC)

SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selected)

2016 – Jane A. Evans: Land, Light, and Trees, Hues Art Supply, Saskatoon, SK
2015 – Artist of the Month for Saskatchewan Network for Art Collecting, Cathedral Village Freehouse Restaurant, Regina, SK
2014 – Customer Showcase, Art Placement Supplies, Saskatoon, SK
2012 – Fresh Prospects, McIntyre Gallery, Regina, SK
2009 – Land and Light, McIntyre Gallery, Regina, SK
2002 – Land and Light, TextileContexT Studio, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC
1998 – Artist of the Month, Mendel Civic Art Gallery Shop, Saskatoon, SK
1995 – Peaceful Places, Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
1973 to 1994 – various solo exhibitions in SK and MI

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)

2024 – Portrait of the Prairie, three-person Exhibition, Dandelion Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
  – Art Now, Fine Art Fair 2024, Dandelion Gallery/SaskGalleries Juried gallery, Online and Prairieland Park, Saskatoon, SK
  –Art Now, Fine Art Fair 2024, Saskatchewan Craft Council/SaskGalleries Juried gallery, Online and Prairieland Park, Saskatoon, SK
-2023 – Regional Differences, Artists in Canada, online Exhibition
  – September Harvest, Dandelion Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
  – Paleo Art, Saskatchewan Printmakers Members’ Exhibition, The Eye Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
  – Art Now, Fine Art Fair 2023, Saskatchewan Craft Council/SaskGalleries juried gallery,  Regina, SK
  – Summer Impressions, Saskatchewan Printmakers Members’ Exhibition, The Bunkhouse, Forestry Farm Park, Saskatoon, SK
2022 –Art Now, Saskatchewan Craft Council/ SaskGalleries juried gallery, Online and Prairieland Park, Saskatoon, SK
  – Small Quirks, Selected Exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Council, SCC Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
2021 – Art Now, Saskatchewan Craft Council/ SaskGalleries juried gallery, Online and Pop-up Gallery
  – Pop-up Boutique Gallery, Saskatchewan Craft Council
1979, ’80, ’84, ’89, ’91, 1994-2000, 2002-2006, 2008, 2009, 2021 – Dimensions, Juried Exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Provincial/National Tours
2020 – Art Now, Saskatchewan Craft Council/ SaskGalleries juried gallery, online
  – From Scratch, Curated Exhibition, Affinity Gallery, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Saskatoon, SK
2019 – Art Now, Saskatchewan Craft Council/SaskGalleries juried gallery, The Sound Stage, Regina, SK
  –  Plein Air Painter’s Group Exhibition, Hues Art Supplies, Saskatoon, SK
2016 – Plein Air Painters’ Group Exhibition, Hues Art Supplies, Saskatoon, SK
2015 – Our Prairie in Fibre, Curated Exhibition, Affinity Gallery, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Saskatoon. SK
2014 – Birds and Their Environs, Invitational Exhibition, Corner Books, Minneapolis, MN
2013 – Trees and Leaves, Invitational Exhibition, Corner Books, Minneapolis, MN
  – The Jury’s Out, Affinity Gallery, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Saskatoon, SK
2007-2012 – Represented by The McIntyre Gallery, Regina, SK (gallery closed when owners retired)
2011 – Root, Branch, Twig and Flower, Curated Exhibition, Affinity Gallery, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Saskatoon, SK
2009 – Unity and Diversity, Juried Exhibition, Canadian Craft Federation, Sixth International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea
2002 – The Fresh Connection, two-person exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Gallery, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Saskatoon, SK
2001 – Small Expressions 2001, Handweavers Guild of America, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO
1999 – Uncommon Threads, Curated Exhibition, A Show of Hands Contemporary Craft Gallery, Toronto, ON
1997 – In Touch with Fibers, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH
1996 – Textile Traditions/New Dimensions, a 4-person show, Raindance Gallery, Portland, OR
1994-’95 – Small Expressions ’94, Handweavers Guild of America, International Tour of U.S.A. and Taiwan
1973 -’94 – Numerous exhibitions, including Instructors’ Exhibitions at weavers’ conferences across Canada and U.S.A.

EDUCATION

2016 – studied painting with Albert Handell, Sedona, AZ
2014, 2013 – studied acrylic painting with Bonnie Cutts, Minneapolis, MN
2012 – studied acrylic painting with Cathy Carey, Escondido, CA
1972- ’73, 85-’88 – B.F.A. classes, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon
1985 – Master Weaver Certification, Guild of Canadian Weavers
1969 – B.Ed., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
1968 – B.A., English Literature, University of Wisconsin, Madison

AWARDS AND HONOURS (selected)

2021- Award for Excellence in Printmaking, Dimensions, juried exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Council
1995-2009- seven Awards for Excellence for fibre art pieces, Dimensions, juried exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Council
2008 – Honorary Diploma from The Cultural Foundation of the World Federation of Free Latvians, for writing the book A Joy Forever, Latvian Weaving; Traditional and Modified Uses
2006 – member of SOFA (Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art) Exposition Trade Mission, Canadian Consulate, Chicago, IL
2002, ’03, ’05 – Saskatchewan Arts Board Award for Innovation in Craft, Dimensions, juried exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Council
1999 & 2003 – juried publication in Fiberarts Design Book series, Lark Books
1998 – Nominee, Jean A. Chalmers National Crafts Award
1996 – Nominee, Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in Canadian Crafts
1995 – three awards, including “Best of Show Award”, Embroiderers’ Association of Canada, Edmonton, Alberta
1992 – two Merit Awards for Book A Joy Forever, Latvian Weaving, Midwest Independent Publishers’ Association, U.S.A.
1991 – Premier’s Award (fabric component), Dimensions, juried exhibition, Saskatchewan Craft Council
1980-’91 – Awards at juried exhibitions in Canada and the U.S.A.
1986, 1987 – Canada Council grants
1976 – Saskatchwan Arts Board Grant

COLLECTIONS

Permanent Collections of Saskatchewan Arts Board; Saskatchewan Craft Council; City of Regina, SK; City of North Battleford, SK; numerous private and business collections in North America, Europe, and Australia

PUBLICATIONS BY THE ARTIST

Book – A Joy Forever: Latvian Weaving, Traditional and Modified Uses (1991, Dos Tejedoras Publishing, St. Paul, MN)
Weaving articles – over 50 articles appearing since 1974 in over a dozen publications on art and/or weaving

PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ARTIST (selected)

Herstory, 2005-The Canadian Women’s Calendar; Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot 1/00, 7/86; Handwoven, 3/96; Western People, 7/93; Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Bulletin, 6/92; Craft Factor, SK. Craft Council, Fall/02; Winter/92, Fall/91, Summer/86; Star-Phoenix Newspaper, Saskatoon, SK, 12/02, 9/95, 7/93, 10/92, 5/86

PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING ARTIST’S WORK

The Country RegisterManitoba and Saskatchewan, Kipling, SK, cover image, April/May, 2017; The Best of Weavers’ – Summer and Winter Plus, XRX Pub., 2010;  Herstory, 2005-The Canadian Women’s Calendar;  Fiberarts Design Book Seven, Lark Books, 2003;  The Best of Weavers’ – Twill Thrills, XRX Pub., 2004;  The Best of Weaver’s – Thick ‘n Thin, XRX Pub., 2001;  Fiberarts Design Book Six, Lark Books, 1999;  Weaving Contemporary Rag Rugs, Heather Allen, 1998;  8, 12, 20 – An Introduction to Multi-shaft Weaving, Kathryn Wertenberger, 1988;  Embroidery Canada, 9/95;  Geometric Design in Weaving, Else Regensteiner, 1986

ITINERANT TEACHING ACTIVITIES (1972-2003)

Roles: Keynote Speaker, Workshop Instructor, Seminar Leader, Lecturer at Conferences, Guilds, Schools & Galleries across Canada and the U.S.A.
Major Conferences (selected): Convergence (attendance from 20+ countries); Complex Weavers Seminars; Florida Tropical Weavers’ Guild; Intermountain Weavers’ Conference; Michigan League of Weavers; Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association; Midwest Weavers; NW Assoc. of Weavers’ Guilds; Ontario Handweavers and Spinners

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (selected past and current)

Artists in Canada;  CAR/FAC (Canadian Artists Representation); Canadian Crafts Council (Provincial Representative, 1980);   Complex WeaversHandweavers Guild of America (Canadian Regional Representative, 1983-90); Guild of Canadian Weavers (President, 1996); Saskatchewan Craft Council (Juried, Professional Craftsman member; Chairman, 1980; Founding Member, 1975); Shoestring Gallery Artists’ Cooperative (later AKA), Saskatoon, SK (1972-1978)

JUROR
Regional and international weaving exhibitions, Canadian Master Weaver program, Saskatchewan Arts Board Awards 

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Biography

Jane A. Evans is a landscape artist living among acres of trees and meadows near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Her intimate landscapes are distinctive whether in threads or paints, the serenity of each site evocative and inviting.

About 1971 Jane began making fiber art, including a 20-year series of over 100 landscapes called “Places of Peace.”

In 2012 she transitioned from fiber art (which incorporated paints) to painting, collage work, and printmaking with acrylic paints.  Recent paintings are often multi-media with perceptible surfaces and textures, incorporating acrylic gels, pastes, and/or oriental papers collaged under the acrylic paints.

She also has returned to printmaking, specifically of monotypes, which are one-of-a-kind pieces. These are prints made by painting on a glass surface with acrylics, then applying a sheet of print-quality paper and lifting up the paint’s image with the paper. Many layers of this process build the unique, final image.

Jane Evans has training in fine arts from universities, holds degrees in literature and education, and is a Master Weaver.  She has been nominated for Canada’s two most prestigious awards in craft, the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence and the Jean A. Chalmers National Crafts Award.  Her woven and painted artworks are in magazines, books, and collections around the world and have won many awards in exhibitions in the United States and Canada.  She has taught weaving throughout North America, written a well-received book and numerous articles, and developed unique image-making techniques in fiber art with threads and paints.

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Artist’s Statement

My pictures are not as much traditional “landscapes” as they are “land-escapes.” While I occasionally portray a panorama, usually I seek out smaller, intimate, natural sites. I want to explore the serenity of natural, enveloping places. I try to make pieces that are calm, evocative, and inviting, somewhere a person could sit and think, or just sit. I often do “tree portraits” because the anecdotal character of individual trees can be fascinating. My pictures include no people, human artifacts, or anything with eyes. For me these generate their own stories which conflict with my purpose in painting stories of the land.

My art works invite viewing from both near and far. Up close they offer colourful, textured surfaces with interplays of shadows, while at a distance there is cohesion to the imagery which creates depth and breaks the picture plane. They are invitations for eye, hand, and emotions.

From 1971 until 2012 my public medium was fibre art. The most recent 20 years of that time I primarily made landscape pictures that merged weaving, painting, and embroidery for their imagery. As with most pictorial work, drawings and rough paintings were part of the preparatory steps.

In 2012 I transitioned from fibre art which had incorporated textile paints to painting with acrylic paints and mixed media. This met a growing need to be able to express particular effects in a picture, effects that would have been inconsistent with and forced upon a textile basis. The paintings often include collaged oriental papers as the ground on which to paint, and I add sculptural acrylic gels and pastes for textures.

Today my main focus has been a return to printmaking. Specifically I create monotypes, a process that gives a unique image by painting. The image is painted with acrylics on glass and while still wet the paint is lifted off on to print paper. Many layers build up the one-of-a-kind, final image. Monotypes can give a look to an image that is not possible through any other way of producing the picture.

These are satisfying techniques for me and appropriate methods for portraying my view of the world.

Jane Evans painting