Jane Zamost incorporates color, movement and shape. She straddles the line between abstract and representational. She works at a larger size and her works are very impactful. Inspiration can come from anywhere and she recognizes a link between art and healing.
Her work can be both very personal and at the same time universal.
When and how did you begin in the arts?
I always have had some type of craft or fine art project going on in my life. As a young child, all types of mushrooms were blossoming, ones with polka dots, stripes, checkerboards; on mountaintops, along the sea and sky. As I got older, I created collages with a vast menagerie of ephemera, those I found in nature, scraps of fabric and papers, and paint. During high school, college and while studying abroad in London, I became passionate about enameling, then lithography, sculpture yet have continually come back to my love of paint and mixed media.
Which media do you work in?
I work in paint and mixed media. My works commence with an acrylic base, followed by water based oil, oil stick, cold wax and pan pastel. I love how each layer adds texture; every surface, intrigue.
How do you decide what to paint?
Traditionally, I don’t decide. I begin with a mark, color or an emotion as my starting point. And then, I summon my hands and feelings to move me.
I love the feeling of not knowing where my piece will end up, it’s very thrilling. Interesting, too, is how my works evolve. Often I complete a piece only to determine a month later, sometimes even years, to continue on.
Why do you feel art links to healing?
Firstly, I know it does. Life, as we all have experienced, is a full array of emotion; happiness, sadness, excitement and frustration, the list goes on and on. All of these expressions are visible on my canvases. My art gives these emotions space to speak. And, through challenging times, it offers me release of pent-up feelings that require air to make me breathe more easily.
When I ran the Arts & Healing Program at Capital Health, I repeatedly witnessed the magic of making, viewing and experiencing art. Patients so incapacitated sat up in moments when given paint and a brush. Children crying hysterically were laughing within minutes.
It’s unbelievable to see how creating can self soothe. I shared then, and I encourage now in my workshops to “let go;” permit your mind to wonder and travel freely, make mistakes (sometimes they become your best works) and listen to all types of music. You’ll discover that different music genres will encourage you to make art differently.
Who are some of your influences?
I love the whimsy of Marc Chagall, his mysticism, color sense and lack of realism beckons me to look at his works with a free eye. The faces of Modigliani call me, my parents had a lithograph in our family dining room, and I sat across from it for years. I think his influence has played a big role in my own depiction of faces. I love the fabric works of Bisa Butler, they are unbelievably detailed and simply gorgeous. I have found on Instagram Rene Romero Schuler; her girls speak to me. And I simply adore the abstracts of Helen Frankenthaler.
Your colors are wonderful. Do you set out to make a painting with specific colors in mind?
I love color, probably jewel colors most of all. Yet when painting, I push myself to go out of my comfort zone and pick a variety of colors, some not necessarily my favorites.
What fight/struggle do you have regarding your art?
My biggest struggle is time. I have so many ideas in my head that want to materialize. It’s challenging to find the time to bring all of these projects to fruition. Over the last decade, I’ve kept a bucket list of ideas in a notebook. The items that keep re-appearing are my current projects.
What are you working on now?
I’ve had on my bucket list for some time the making of a chandelier for my bedroom. I’m happy to say it’s currently hanging, not yet perfected. I’m still working on it. And, I’ve just completed the second in my “Whispers & Secrets” series for fabulous new clients. Fortunately for me, they love my favorite colors of purple, blue and pink. These colors plus their contagious enthusiasm for the process made it a fabulous project.
Another bucket list item: a children’s book that’s been in my head since my eldest granddaughter was born nearly four years ago. I just completed its first rendition and am anxiously awaiting receipt of the first copy. I’m very excited about “What Does Love Look Like?”
Come the summer, I’ll be in the LBI Artist Studio Tour. There will be a one night only event at Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts & Sciences in July, followed by the artist tour on Saturday, Aug. 9. And, in Hamilton and Trenton, I’ve teamed up with Artworks Trenton and rented my artworks at two corporations (so new for me/love this opportunity!), Princetel, Inc. in Hamilton Township and Taft Communications in Trenton.
Tell us about teaching and how it is received.
I love making art, yet it is solo work so the opportunity to teach gives me the socialization I so love and need. I guide participants to engage in my workshop to enjoy, with no goals beyond the pleasure of creating.
What is a dream project of yours?
I just began materializing a workshop with author Rachel Levy Lesser, “What We Keep.” It’s about the things we keep in our drawers or shelves that we never look at or use yet every time we purge, we simply can’t part with this memory piece. Rachel and I are encouraging participants to bring this special something to our workshop. I’ll guide folks on how to bring it new life with art and, Rachel, with words. Together, we’re going to integrate the two.
Other dream projects? Developing permanent hospital exhibits, working with clients on their homes, hotels and corporations.
