Hello, I'm Janelle

I am an artist interested in human identity and psychology. As someone who constantly is trying new things, my work frequently includes printmaking practices because of the ability to get multiples of each print. From these multiples, experimentations with color, texture, and additions to each piece to study how a small change can affect the work occur. Printmaking is similar to people. We are all made of the same things, but our psychology and who we are (the small changes) are what make us our own individuals. With this philosophy in mind, my point of focus has become people, psychology, and human anatomy. By focusing on these things, my work studies how people are portrayed, where that portrayal comes from, and how that portrayal affects individuals. My art is a way to express and instill emotion, as well to process life experiences. Expressionism and impressionism influence and inspire my work because of the looseness yet stability found in these kinds of pieces. The ability to see how subtle changes in a work of art affect the overall composition and how it is viewed, combined with the interpretive ambiguity of impressionism provide an excellent platform for exploring not just the art, but also oneself as a whole. Using these ideas, my artwork is attempting to lay out my foundation for a practice in art therapy.

Art saved my life. I heavily struggle with mental illnesses that make living nearly unbearable. Growing up, I practiced painting as a way to escape from reality. I grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and lived there until I was 17. At 17, I moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to live with my brother to allow myself a fresh start. While in Minneapolis, I invested most of my time into creating art. At this point in my life, I was drowning in depression. My brother helped enroll me into FAIR School Downtown, an art integrated high school. Once I started going to FAIR, I began creating art daily. Practicing art, specifically painting, was my own form of therapy. FAIR also led me to meeting skateboard artist, Mark Rivard. Rivard ran an after-school program that gave students free art supplies to turn blank skateboards into original works of art. After spending time crafting skateboards, I got invited to display a few of my skateboards at the 2017 X-Games. This was the moment I knew that even with my crippling depression, I was worth something. Someone saw my talent and gave me hope. From here I pushed myself to learn multiple mediums, many of which I originally thought were out of my reach as I often doubted myself. I furthered this self-discipline as I continued to expand my education at UMSL. After all that art has done for me, I plan to aid others in gaining self-love, whether it be from helping them get the hands-on artistic experience that changed my own life, or by giving them a work of art to view that inspires themselves.

Education

BFA • December 2021 • Univeristy of Missouri- St. Louis

During my career at UMSL, I studied studio art and minored in Psychology. As an art major, my emphasis was in printmaking. I studied mainly under Jeffery Sippel and Linda Bangert.