“What Is Self?”
These pieces relate to self in both a personal and archetypal way.
Death and Rebirth.
The sculpture is about loss so profound that it leaves one feeling burning pain in the soul, and then only hollow, dead, disoriented and numb. This represents the loss or death of the ego self, purged by the fire of rage and despair. Empty now, waiting to be filled.
Raku clay sculpture explores the paradoxical fragility/strength of the inner self. The raku firing processes incorporate extreme temperature shifts from the kiln to the reduction barrel to the water trough, representing the elements; of earth, air, fire and water., and completing the circle.
The mixed media painting shows the whole self; conscious, subconscious, persona and ego, made from a remix of my notes and sketches taken from the same time period in which i created the sculpture. The outer patterns and shapes represent external forces which influence the shaping of the circular shell that represents the persona. Within the persona, consciousness shimmers above subconscious, with the shiny glass drop of ego hovering between them.
Our collection of life experiences teach us lessons from which we build upon and move forward in our evolution as souls.
My notes and sketches were scanned and digitally collaged, printed with archival inks, then collaged together again onto canvas with other materials and worked back into with acrylic paints and mediums.
JANELLE SCHNEIDER – 3d texture painter & mixed media artist
(Janelle participated in the What is Self? Art & Writing Exhibition @ Frisbie St. in Oakland, CA – May 2009)
Artist Bio: Janelle Schneider was born in Portland, Oregon, and knew from a very young age that she wanted to be an artist and communicate though image.
Her first job during high school was in a local t-shirt shop, where she created hand painted and drawn original designs for special interest group t-shirts, and she also did sign painting on the side. She taught community school classes in calligraphy and glass etching for senior citizens. At graduation she was awarded a scholarship for artistic achievement.
Several years later she attended Pacific Northwest College of Art(PNCA), graduated with a BFA in Design Arts in 1998 and was awarded the Outstanding Senior Thesis Award in Design Arts. During her third year in college she was offered an internship opportunity with a local animation studio, then called Will Vinton Studios. This led to a design arts position which eventually evolved to painting digitally in 3D as a texture artist. During this time she also continued to work in oils, pastel and collage/mixed media, and was offered an ongoing opportunity to exhibit her work in Exposure Art Gallery in Seaside, Oregon.
In 2002 Janelle moved to California to start working on the films Reloaded and Revolutions, the sequels to The Matrix. In 2004 she was offered the opportunity to create the syllabus for and teach a class in digital texture painting at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
She now works for Disney’s ImageMovers Digital in San Rafael as a Senior Texture Artist, while also creating new mixed media work on canvas in preparation for a number of upcoming exhibits.
Janelle’s work features a unifying theme of layers; in layers of meaning, materials and subtle layers of imagery. Creating what she calls “internal landscapes” her subject matter usually centers around personal experiences, and themes relating to mythology, dreams, psychology, spirituality and social commentary.
Artist Website: www.paintbetty.com
