Janet Curti Haines

Artist’s Statement

“Among my earlier memories is my intense interest in art. In kindergarten one day my teacher scorned, ‘Janet, for punishment you must stand in the corner!’ My crime? I was drawing pictures instead of writing and practicing my numbers. Since I was a quiet, sensitive child, I felt devastated by that punishment. Did it keep me from drawing? Oh, no. I spent increasingly more hours drawing (at home), and studying nature. I loved to observe the way plants and flowers developed, and the colors and shapes of pebbles.

I survived kindergarten and moved on to formal art training after other studies and endeavors. I worked as a designer and graphic artist for a number of years while keeping fine art always at my fingertips. Today, I concentrate exclusively on fine art.

My early interest in nature and pebbles found its way into my artwork. For several years, I painted pebbles in larger-than-life intricate detail, with watercolor as my medium of choice. During my period of working with oils, I often painted large studies of leaves and larger-than-life portraits. For several years, I was devoted to printmaking, enjoying the printmaking facilities at the Fort Mason Art Center in San Francisco. Next evolved a series of large graphite studies of feathers and shells, then a number of other series in acrylics. After exploring papermaking, I found that using my own embossed handmade paper as a basis for my artwork gave me a unique texture with which to work. I especially enjoyed the textural results of encaustics over my hand-made paper. I am currently exploring the abstract water-media collage technique using acrylics with my own handmade and other papers mounted on wood forms that I fashion myself; my main emphasis is on the interplay of texture, shape, line and color.

I am also working again with printmaking – exploring its numerous techniques including solar etching, woodcuts, the Van Dyke Brown process, watercolor monotypes, and the many other monotype and monoprint processes.”

Cards featuring Janet’s artwork are available for sale at the Siskiyou Arts Council Gallery & Cultural Center, 418 N. Mt. Shasta Blvd.