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Artists Statement
A trip to the bookstore
reveals the proliferation of journals and diaries among the books. People
like to record their observations, experiences and feelings.
This
is the way that I use my canvas. By observation, I do not mean that I draw
from looking, but rather from an accumulation of observations. I feel that
the camera does a pretty good job of documentation. What I am after is
expression. Although I have been using acrylics, paper collage and
computer images in my art, they seem to have a common thread running
through them. They are sometimes narratives. When I am creating an
artwork, I feel the same power as an author creating a character in a
story.
It
sometimes seems that as I go along, the story changes as the composition
evolves. As my mentor, Maryland abstract artist Gladys Goldstein would
say, children mature in a particular direction and trying to force them to
fit your expectations is futile. It is better to allow them to grow
naturally and follow that direction. She would say the canvas is like a
child, and I agree with that.
Janet Mishner-Biography

Born and raised in Baltimore,
Maryland, Janet Mishner majored in art in high school and attended classes
at Maryland Institute College of Art. She graduated from University of
Maryland with a degree in Elementary Art Education and taught in the
Baltimore City Public School system until her first child was born. She
continued to teach part time at various community centers including the
Towson University Community Arts Center, and continued her own studies at
Towson and Maryland Institute.
After her youngest child entered
elementary school, Janet began to pursue further studies in art. She
volunteered as a docent at the Baltimore Museum of Art for four years. She
also began studying with abstract artist Gladys Goldstein for seven years,
until her move to Bradenton, Florida. During her years in Baltimore, Janet
participated in the juried shows of the (formerly named) Maryland Art
League, and many group and solo shows. Although she has most recently
been working with collage as well as digital art, the collage medium for
Janet dates back to her teenage years when a collage poster that she
entered in a contest to advertise a jazz concert won first prize of
$50.00.
Since moving to Florida, Janet
is a member of the Art Center Sarasota, Art Center Manatee, Creative
Artist Association of Lakewood Ranch, and Women Contemporary Artists,
where she has participated in juried art shows. She has had several solo
exhibitions of her art work in local galleries, including Paradox Gallery,
Hagan Photography and Framing, and Chloe’s Bead Shop at Ubiquity Gallery,
and she was one of several artists chosen to have a month long solo
exhibit at the Florida West Coast Symphony’s Harmony Hall during March
2006.
In
addition to her collage and painting, Janet continues to create computer
art for a company that she started, known as Fabulous Faces™ of Arts &
Graphics, Inc. The primary focus of this art is the “celebration of women
who have finally reached a certain age and become beautiful.” There are
over sixty-five prints, each accompanied by a short story written by
Janet, that are inspired by both autobiographical experience and
observation. On the surface, these prints do not seem related to the
paintings and collages that she continues to create, but they share a
common theme for Janet which is her use of the visual medium to respond to
and express her ideas about people and events.
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Mother Daughter

Flower in Her
Hair
Collage on Canvas

Forest

Cocktail Party
Acrylic on Canvas

The Suits
Collage on
Canvas

Orange Head
Acrylic on
Canvas
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