Jana Roberts Benzon has a diverse artistic background in various mediums, but polymer clay has captured her creative spirit like nothing else. Its ability to become just about anything is the height of creative freedom. Jana has focused on creating her brand of intricate "millefiori" canework and in perfecting her innovative techniques for building and reducing canes. From those canes, Jana loves creating interesting, dimensional jewelry pieces often evocative of Arabic or old world designs.
While she'll never leave the geometric symmetry of caning, these days she's having a great time exploring the world of organic forms and "cutwork". As for inspiration she is of course influenced heavily by nature.
We all had ups and downs during the coronavirus outbreak and pandemic in the world and one would think that being an artist it is actually easier to deal with this situation through the expression of art. However artists are mostly very sensitive beings as well and can take some of these world changes more difficult than others. All one can do is to challenge his own soul and choose to enjoy the opportunity of being at home with the family, having time to create and use it as an advantage.
Jana is sharing with us her thoughts and moments how she spent the last year:
“Throughout the past year with Covid, like most everyone else, my world has shrunk while at the same time I've been very busy. I have not done much claying at all over the past year until about a month or so ago when my time opened up a bit. It's been really interesting because when I began claying again, I noticed my intentions were a bit different. Typically, I am always working on a new technique, but now I find that simply by revisiting old techniques, they come out of my hands in a new form. There are remnants of the "old" technique, but with a new spin. Working this way really takes the pressure off because I begin working on a piece with a familiar technique in mind and then allow myself to be free with it… not follow an old "play book",” says Jana and continues: “Also, my heart has opened up very wide these days since I have a new little soul in my life, my grandson. He is with me quite a bit and we have formed a very strong bond. He teaches me so much everyday, and reminds me of the wonder of life. I think that his influence and the changes in myself over the past year have really opened up my creativity even further, but also have allowed me to relax and create without boundaries. As if there is nothing to be afraid of.”
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