Janice Schultz
About
Art has always been a part of my life. My mother and great aunt were artists. I always enjoyed art in school and when I became a teacher, art was an integral part of my curriculum and assignments. As a principal, and later district administrator, I promoted art in the classrooms specifically supporting the disciplined based art program sponsored by The Getty Museum. I have taught after school art classes for students and adults for many years.
About 5 years before I retired, I started taking art classes, first at Harbor College and then Otis College of Art. Abstract artists Bonita Helmer (Otis), and Craig Antrim, (Harbor College) have been influential teachers and mentors . While I paint both representational and abstract pieces, my true love is abstract painting.
Texture, implied or physical, is a common element in all of my work. I love to experiment and push materials and ideas. My painting tools include chicken wire, garden fencing, masonry tools and strawberry baskets. I spend hours at the hardware store looking at building materials and wondering how I can incorporate them into my art making. In my paintings I try to interpret or respond to an idea or an emotion, but most of all I try to make something beautiful.
Circles became a recurring motif in my work. Initially, I saw circles as representing wholeness, hope and eternity. Later as I began experimenting with new painting techniques I began to deconstruct the circles. They look a little beaten up: still hopeful but a little more worldly. As I have continued to experiment with my process I have added modeling paste, gels and fencing. Geometric shapes still appear in much of my work, but they are distorted and stretched, chopped and flattened. They are evolved; as have I.
My work has been in local shows, including CA101, Palos Verdes Art Center, Resin Gallery, Shock Boxx and Newport City Art Show.In 2020 I participated in the LA Art Show and I was fortunate enough to have sold 4 of the 5 pieces I had displayed. I am a member of the Los Angeles Art Association, Palos Verdes Art Center Artist Open Group and The Artists’ Studio off Palos Verdes. I am also part of the South Bay Artist’s Collective. I have received many awards including First Place in Manhattan Beach Art Show (2017) and Best Mixed Media at the Palos Verdes Art Center Summer Show. (2018).