The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

TRADITIONAL textile and wood carving techniques were on display when artists Jan Elliott, Jenny Guy and Mick Guy officially opened their exhibit at the Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery, earlier this month.


“The word artisan means a craftsman who is very skilled at his craft and has taken his work to the level of an art, which I feel is what all three of us have done,” said Jan. 
Since the exhibit’s opening, she said feedback has been “extremely positive”.

“I think the viewing public has been ready to see some art that is not so traditionally created. There is a lot of non-traditional art on display here in the Bahamas, but not at Central Bank. One of the doormen at Central Bank, who has been there for seven years and has seen every show during that time, commented that this is the best show he has seen,” said Jan.The artist said she also spoke with an art teacher at St Anne’s School who visited the show with a group of students and thought it was a wonderful show.

With ten of her pieces on display, Jan Elliott said her work shows a progression in her development style. She said all of her pieces maintain their roots in traditional patchwork and quilting, but the imagery is not at all traditional.
One of her pieces, “Echinacea Flower - Healing Power”, has a “painterly quality” when viewed from a distance, she said.

“It is only on closer inspection that one realises it is created from fabric, using a raw-edged appliqu� technique, with machine quilting,” she said.
“The ‘Ever Decreasing Circles’ series piece reflects my love of geometry, which was the initial attraction to patchwork and quilting when

I started 16 years ago. ‘What Lies Beneath’ was my first attempt at joining pieces with curved seams, which has now become a standard procedure in much of my work, along with non-traditional stitching across the piece.”

“Each of the pieces is my own design inspiration coming from many sources, though the work of other textile artists is always a major source of inspiration. I don’t like to repeat a piece once it is finished, though I may make something similar, if pushed. So on that basis, each piece is unique,” said Jan.