JANET AUSTIN

Public Artist, builder of site specific, community art since 1993. Projects include murals, fences, paving, sculptures, benches and retaining walls for public spaces made of concrete, bronze, steel, mosaics and ceramics.

Public, Site Specific Art is an interactive experience, providing the opportunity for people to connect with primary emotional responses and other visitors to the site. Collaborating with the public in the creation of art allows for a participatory experience that transforms the interaction beyond the finished work. Today physical interaction with art is increasingly limited by the presence of digital technology. The primary focus of my public work, therefore, is to bring back the joy of making art by creating with one’s own hands.

Sculptor in outdoor media: concrete, metals, mosaics and ceramics.

My sculptures of large creatures are immediately appealing, fun and approachable. They also address the unnecessary disgust and fear of nature. Toads are icky; the grackle, a despised bird with an annoying call, steals the eggs of more beloved songbirds. Why do we poison wasps responsible for pollination? What is the cost to the environment? Why do we feel the need as humans to control nature? This work brings to light the importance of biodiversity and the irresponsible application of pesticides in our environment.

The exploration of the naughty and nice in nature led me to combine the menacing with the beautiful in my most recent work, sculpture of welded steel and concrete inspired by insects and insect parts. These smaller pieces please us with beautiful finishes and form, yet include an element of danger or grossness. As in the large mosaic sculptures we are both attracted to and repelled from them simultaneously.