Page 20 - the NOISE August 2015

IlluMInateD space
Sacred Datura and a mandala painted at the time of the Nepal Earthquake are two of the paintings Jill Sans will be displaying at the Indigo Art Market at the Green Room during First Friday ArtWalk.
sTory By ClAir AnnA rose
green corn fields and open skies in rural Iowa and nebraska were the playgrounds of painter Jill Sans until her family moved to Flagstaff when she was 17. “I feel I was fortunate to grow up in a rural area — playing in corn fields, barns and having a lot of imagination.” Ms. sans says. This early setting she grew up in fostered an artistic mind, and Ms. sans knew she always wanted to be an artist. she was always interested in art in elementary school, took art classes in high school and studied graphic design in college
— though those classes always seemed to be geared more towards commercial art, she felt she learned a lot of technique that would compliment her artistry in years to come.
After college the artist planned to live a metropolitan life in seattle, wA and was preparing to move away when she met her future husband Patrick sans just before she was to leave. The two kept talking after she moved away, and she soon realized that she wanted to come back to Flagstaff and see where life would take them.
The two married, and now own Burly Fish Tattoo where they use their artistry on a daily basis. For the past 8 years Ms. sans has been specializing in body piercing and doing permanent make-up for four years.
In the last couple of years she has begun to express herself personally as an artist. Permanent make-up and body piercing was a different form of artistic expression that was fun and challenging, and being around tattoo artists and her husband’s artistic expression was inspiring. “I always held myself back,” Ms. sans reflects when I ask her what prompted her to begin painting. “It was like life was getting really heavy and I wasn’t understanding how to find outlets or express myself in the way I needed to. I realized I needed to start doing something. so I started painting.”
The artist describes her first paintings as whimsical, with animals and creatures as her subjects. she began to learn meditation, which lead to a change in her art. “That was really big for me,” she says of her meditation practice. “working with my mind, calming down and just being in a space of peace and quiet. I started doing mandalas because it was fun and easy for me to lay them out. I could meditate while I was doing it. now they’ve evolved into these little energy bursts. I’m inspired by Tibetan Buddhism and their culture, their art, their temples and their way of being. when I paint I try to find that place of happiness and happiness for all things.”
Churches, temples, or places that create a feeling of awe also inspire Ms. sans’ work, and she tries to bring those feelings to the canvas. “Maybe this comes from meditation
— I let the paintbrush hit the canvas with my breath, being totally present, feeling the painting process — it’s really awesome,” she describes.
The mandalas painted by Ms. sans are all different, though the four she showed me all had gold paint worked into the design, adding richness and contrast to the bold colors of her
palette. she enjoys painting on wood because she likes the solid feeling of it under her brush.
One painting with a pink and green kaleidoscope- like pattern in the center and gold rings with accents of turquoise on a deep indigo background was created after the destructive earthquake in nepal. “not only was it sad to think of all the devastation — for me it was also really sad to think of all the art and work people had put into these temples and shrines crumble to the ground. My teacher said it was best to focus on (the mantra), ‘May all sentient beings have happiness.’ Thinking of nepal and trying to think of changing that suffering into something beautiful.”
A green and gold mandala stands apart from the others with two panels resting on top of a third panel, the top two parting as if opening. The spire-points on the design of both layers repeat, but alternate dominant colors. “It represents the layers of things, who we are as people,” Ms. sans explains.
“we have the part of ourselves we show to others — but there are layers and layers. The way we see things in this world. I like the idea of playing with layers, the same thing, but changing.”
The creative process for each piece of art work is different from one painting to the next. “sometimes I’ll sit down and see something,” she says. “I’ll see what it looks like and I’ll put it down on paper.” she then uses that image to begin her painting. some paintings begin simply with a dot, and from there the painting grows and expands as the artist is absorbed in the moment, painting and feeling the movement of her brush.
A recent painting, Sacred Datura, has a datura blossom in the center and the symmetry of the petals resembles a spinning pinwheel on a predominantly gold background with greens and pinks worked into the design. “we just went to Lake Powell,” Ms. sans tells me about the piece. “we were driving through the high desert and the reservation. with all the rain — just to see those colors, the sand and the sage — it was so gorgeous. I was inspired. I had to do something.”
Two of the paintings the artist shows me seem to have spires that are reminiscent of the design of compasses. I ask if they represent something describable to the artist. “For me they are like a representation of space in this world. I think I’ve always had this weird understanding of space. I remember as a kid I always had to rearrange the furniture and just feel things.”
The paintings of Jill sans, “Illuminated space,” will be on display one night only this August during the First Friday Artwalk on Friday, August 9 5:30PM to 8:30PM, at the Green Room, as part of the Indigo Arts Collective.
The Indigo Arts Collective has been around for five months. “Currently, our focus has been on the Indigo Art Market at the Green Room,” Kayley Monster, IAC organizer and member tells me. “The goal of the Indigo Art Market is to
create a warm environment where artists can come together, setup decorative booths, trade and market their handmade goods to a broader community. Because it is a free event for artist participants, we tend to get a handful of unique crafts that wouldn’t normally be displayed in a traditional gallery setting. I believe some artists feel more freedom in taking chances with their art because of the openness, although we do have a lot more classic jewelry, prints and paintings.”
every month a different artist is featured — this August Jill sans. “Most months we also have live music accompanying our artists,” Ms. Monster describes. “There’s something really magical about being able to be in a living environment with good live music, craft beers and artists geeking out on selling and marketing their passion. It’s really unlike a lot of First Friday events I’ve been too.”
The feeling of community is strong in the Indigo Arts Collective. “what I really love about the art market is the support and nurturing of each other›s work that each and every artist who joins in the market participates in,” says Ms. Monster. “we all encourage each other and talk each other up to art walk goers. we›re proud to be featured alongside one another and it›s a really uplifting environment for an artist. I believe that this environment of collaboration reflects directly to the art walk goers’ experience — It’s a positive atmosphere and a place to come together and support artists who may or may not always be in the center limelight of the Flagstaff arts community. everything made by the IAC artists glows from enthusiasm and pride for their craft and artistic work.”
Conceptually still in its beginning phase the IAC’s mission is, “To create a hopeful and viable future through art-based programs, community outreach and artistic collaborations.”
“The IAC grew as inspiration from a few things in my life; I really enjoy the Mural Mice›s community participation and outreach model,” Ms. Monster shares. “I wanted to create something that contributes to nurturing community development through art, like they do. I also have been researching a lot of community art projects online and I wanted a place to begin starting some of these unique and engaging projects within Flagstaff. I typically spearhead the art market, but the other participants are always eager and ready to help so I can’t take full credit. As the Indigo Art Collective grows and develops I anticipate other art-inspired community activists to spearhead their own projects to benefit Flagstaff.”
some of the other artists who will be displaying their work on First Friday at The Green Room, 15 n. Agassiz, are Kayley Monster, Cloe Premeau, Rachel Grieg, Martina Tingley, Sarah Buss, Janeece Henes, and Siera Smyth.
| Clair Anna rose finds indigo to be her favorite blue of the summer. clair@thenoise.us
20 • august 2015 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
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