Jane Pettit is a self-taught artist who started selling her creations as an adolescent in Vermont. Her art is a unique combination of mosaic, assemblage and collage. She creates large and small sculpture and wall art. She knew she’d found her ideal art form when she could combine three loves: recycling things for other than their original purpose, getting disparate parts to work together and enlivening everything with lots of color. Nature’s inspiration is evident in her work as is her inclination to celebrate what’s right in the world.
Jane uses color, texture and diversity of materials to invite a closer look, spark curiosity and amuse the viewer. Fascinated by nature's creation of order from seemingly chaotic randomness, Jane loves the challenge of creating a cohesive visual statement from divergent materials. Her art combines traditional Italian mosaic materials with recycled dishes, found objects large and small, shells, stones and paint. The raw materials in any one piece are like a mini-United Nations, representing five to ten countries of origin. Her preferred sculptural base is a combination of concrete and fiberglass.
Although each piece starts with a vision, it’s an exploration of texture, form, color and meaning that evolves in the making. There is an ever-present tension between the fun of working with the materials and letting them run the show and communicating the message present at the start of the project.
Her three current interests are creating artistic focal points for the garden, breathing life into portraits made of recycled bits and moving from realism to abstraction. Her current learning curve relates to tools, adhesives and materials for outdoor pieces.
Recognition
• “Summer’s Welcome” was selected for inclusion in the Zenith Foundation’s 2009 calendar to benefit The Capital Area Food Bank.
•”Undecided” was awarded third prize at the Blanche Ames Gallery juried show, 2009.
•”Ode to Dog” received the Juror’s Award for Excellence at the 2005 Rehoboth Art Show.
Current Shows
• “Imagine a Garden,” Solo sculpture show, Artique Underground Gallery and Volt Restaurant, Frederick, MD, August-September, 2010
• “Trees of Life,” Zenith Gallery and Chevy Chase Pavilion, Chevy Chase, DC
Upcoming Shows
• 40th Annual Labor Day Art Show, Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD, September 3-6, 2010
• Solo show, River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Bethesda, MD, February, 2011
Galleries and Exhibits
•The Zenith Gallery,DC
•“Reincarnations” show, 1111 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, DC
•The Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth, Delaware
•Angel Eyes Gallery, Rehoboth, Delaware
•“Peace Now,” Warehouse Gallery, DC
•Art Romp, DC
•Art-O-Matic 2004, 2006 and 2008, 2009, DC
•The Phoenix Gallery, NYC
•The Sewall-Belmont House, DC
•Strathmore Hall, Bethesda, MD
•Politics and Prose, DC
Recent Shows
•”The Box Show,” The Artists’ Gallery, Frederick, MD
•“Searching for Meaning,” Second Annual Juried Show, Blanche Ames Gallery, Frederick, MD
•“From a Woman’s Perspective,” The Women’s Caucus for Art Southeast Region Juried Show, Pepco’s Edison Place Gallery, DC
•”Farmers Market” show, Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth, DE
•39th Annual Labor Day Art Show, Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD
• “A Running Commentary” show, Friendship Heights Community Center, Chevy Chase, MD
Jane has exhibited at numerous events in the Washington area, including The St. Albans Holiday House Tour, The Junior League Show, The National Cathedral Flower Mart, The National Symphony Show House, Clifton Days, Holton Arms Harvest Festival and the Georgetown Visitation Holiday Show. She is a participating artist in the Girls Gotta Run Foundation. Jane has done private commissions for several Washington area residents. She teaches at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD and in her studio in Myersville, MD.
