Thursday, March 12, 2009

I always wear my jewels to paint in!


Jani was born Jane Anne Scholes in 1945 in Toronto, Canada. She came out of the womb an inquisitive adventurous creative person. In 1964, after studying at Central Technical Art School in Toronto, she put her motorcycle aboard the SS. Queen Elizabeth and sailed to Europe. She enrolled in sculpture and pottery at the University of Fine Arts in Barcellona Spain. Did I forget to mention; she was just 16 years of age.
Her fascination with things European: art, architcture, lifestyle, were now firmly cemented.
Jani continued her work in pottery. She opened her own studio in Mount Albert, Ontario in 1970.
She loved her craft and shared her skills as a teacher of pottery at The Ontario College of Art, George Vanier College, Seneca College, Central Technical Art School, and Northern Secondary School, all in Toronto.
I remember Jani asking me in 1983 if I would like to attend her weekend pottery show and sale in Mount Albert. I had not known her very long, and had no idea of her reputation. It was a cold fall morning in the Ontario countryside. The lineup began early, wrapping down her drive and streaching, what seemed forever, down the road. Jani loved being the hostess. She walked amongst those chilling in the long line offering lots of her contagious good humour and hot apple cider. It was an awesome two days.
Jani had always painted; firstly at art school, and then the delightful designs she applied to her pottery. It was after spending almost two years living in Florence, that she decided to dedicate her talent to painting.
She attended Emily Carr in part time studies, The School of Design, in Vancouver, and Vaison La Romaine in Provence France.
Her works were first seen at Peridot in Vancouver and continued on until 2002. She had her first one woman show at the Ferry Building Art Gallery in West Vancouver in 2000, and a second show in 2003. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver devoted their gallery to a show in 2000. Jani has been represented by Residence Interiors since 2000, and more recently by The Cross in downtown Vancouver.
Jani and her husband Louis Guzy moved to Italy in 2001. They presently reside in the enchanting little city of Alba amongst the vineyards of Piedmont. Jani continues to paint in her studio in Italy and exhibits at The Cross and Residence Interiors in Vancouver. Her works have found homes internationally.