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Jan Dymond

Artist Statement for "Where Birds Dream" Show and Silent Auction, Winter 2010

When I moved to Corvallis with my family over 40 years ago, I had a few years of public school teaching under my belt. Now I had two toddlers under my feet.

As an "at home mom", I began dreaming about all the ideas and directions I longed for earlier in my life. It was a slow beginning because, as a mom, I was busy and distracted.  But the love, joy and and support for my children and husband were the most compelling work I had ever found. Corvallis was our nest from then on.

It's also where I learned to stretch my wings and fly.

When I was able to recover some time for me, I feasted on the opportunities here. I took art classes at OSU from great resources such as Nelson Sandgren and Paul Gunn. I studied sculpting and bronze casting at LBCC with Gene Toby.  I learned a life long passion for being a potter from Dale Donovan here at the Corvallis Art Center. Other classes in pottery with Jay Widmer and the quality workshops sponsored by the Benton Center inspired and energized me. These offerings were within flying distance from my "nest".

Birds also need a place to dream. I started renting studio space for painting. At home, my nest wasn't always tidy.  But my heart soared as I began to work in my pottery studio in the garage, making and firing my own work.  Later I built a gas kiln in the back yard.....blew it up and built it again! No birds were hurt in the process.

Other birds of a feather and I created and operated the Seal Rock Art Co-Op on the Oregon coast for over a decade. It was an exciting and cooperative outlet for our creative work. Later I helped start Teal, a local cooperative gallery.

My work was also shown in two Portland galleries, as well other Northwest venues.  I'm now locally represented at Corvallis' amazing Pegasus Gallery.  I have also had the great privilege of teaching some pottery classes at the Benton Center, as well as occasionally firing with a talented community of Northwest potters in two different Anagama kilns in Oregon.

Delights of flight with my husband brought me to other countries to study and sometimes teach in New Zealand, Australia, and India . But I always migrated back to the home nest, where I could slowly and deeply assimilate my bird's eye view of other cultures and beauties.

My own little birds long ago flew from the nest . They have built amazing lives in new nests further away.  During the last few years my nest has brought healing from the loss of the inspiring support and love of my husband.  I have also again flown from this nest to explore and learn new ideas and ways. But my tree is still here amongst a village of other beautiful and nurturing branches that hold familiar and new nests to dream in.