Janet Kelman

                       Photo:  Richard Doyle

\. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Janet Kelman has created sculptural and architectural glass for over forty years.  She studied chemistry in college and fell in love with glass, aesthetically as well as the physical ways in which the medium can be manipulated.  She built a studio and produced beautifully blown and etched perfume bottles that were sold in galleries across the country.  In 1985, Janet began creating architectural glass:  sandblasted doors, windows, and mirrors in her distinct, delicate style.  Recent commissions include mosaics, donor walls, sculptural wall pieces, and lighting.  Her work graces homes and businesses across the Midwest.  In 2009, Janet married and moved to Ann Arbor.

I am drawn to water and images of water.  It was thrilling for me to learn to scuba dive.  The series I call "Seafans" emerged from that experience.  My latest work is an exploration of water images and color, applied to simple shapes, rectangles and boats.  I create small glass pieces using threads of glass, enameled images, crushed glass, whatever else I can dream up, and assemble them in layers on a kiln shelf.  The finished fused glass always provides surprises, its constant allure for me.