Creating a glass mosaic flower on a rock was a whimsy to
lighten and brighten her own garden, but Jan Shoemark
quickly discovered it had wider appeal.

'Because my front garden looked a bit drab, I thought the flower would add a bit of light and colour. It wasn't long before someone called in to ask if they could buy it, so I made another one, and that sold too, and it clicked that I might be on to something,” says Jan, who lives in a cottage not far from the Waitoa Dairy Factory in the Waikato.

It was more than Jan's garden, which was a little bleak, 10 years ago when she moved there.
'I had been a landscaper in Auckland when I had an accident, surgery was unsuccessful, which meant I could no longer work. Without an income, Auckland quickly became too expensive to live in.”

Mosaics
Jan bought the cottage and considered her options, but becoming a fulltime artist didn't figure in her thinking until the rocks with glass mosaics started to sell.
'I had done a tile mosaic course while I was recovering but didn't really enjoy it. However, working with glass is something else.”
From simple designs on rocks, Jan experimented with a variety of themes from balls, to egg-shapes, to outdoor plaques and then to more intricate indoor and outdoor framed artworks.
With no one else in New Zealand doing the same kind of work, Jan taught herself the techniques of working with glass, researching the best cutting tools and sources of glass. She also makes her own wooden frames, often from recycled timber.

Awards
Her art career really took off when she won a Bronze Award at the Auckland Ellerslie Flower Show, and she has since won a Best Site Award at the Mystery Creek Fieldays, where she will again have a stand this year. Jan's art is also on sale at the Te Aroha's 'Taxi on Eleven Gallery”, and at A&P Shows and art shows.
Working with glass has its challenges, not the least of which is cut fingers. 'Bandaids are always on hand in the workshop, but you quickly learn to be careful.”
The glass Jan uses is nearly always new, much of it imported. 'Old glass is lovely but glass is semi-liquid and moving, albeit very slowly, so over time it becomes brittle, often thicker at one end than the other, and it shrinks.”

Mirrored
Jan has some of her new glass mirrored, creating stunning effects such as in the Rock & Roll picture, largely in black and white, with iridescent highlights streaming down on the silhouetted dancing figures.
Unlike many artists, Jan doesn't stick to one theme or style. Her work extends from the very commercial 'man cave” and 'woman cave” signs, to quirky cow plaques and cartoon-themed rural scenes, to native birds set in elegant mirrors, or classical styles like the Mediterranean Village picture with its pristine white houses and bright fishing boat.
'I enjoy the challenge of trying something different. For instance, it took me ages to figure out how to cut circles in glass for tractor or bike tyres.”
Jan also accepts commissions, and often has more than one artwork underway at once.
'If I get stumped on something, or need more glass, or just have a day when I can't concentrate so well, I can switch what I'm doing.”

Faith
She has never fully recovered from her injuries and medical misadventure, and is awaiting further surgery. Jan's strong Christian faith inspires her to stay positive and make the most of her life.
'There's a positive to everything. If I hadn't had that accident, I wouldn't have discovered glass art, and my art has provided me with not only an interest I really enjoy, but also an income.”
Waitoa, she says, is the ideal place to be an artist. 'It's very central to Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga, and many of my clients are happy to come for a drive in the country to visit me. Real estate is much cheaper in the rural areas than the cities and I have wonderful neighbours who look out for me. It's also a safe community to live in.”
To find out more details visit
www.janshoemarkglassartist.co.nz