JANICE SEINO                  STATEMENT AND BIO

"I was able to spend several years living in India, Nepal and Japan studying Asian painting. I have started to look again at the methods taught to me so long ago. My current direction has actually taken me back to those past experiences and memories of my travels in Asia. I am looking for the magic and mystery in a place, a face or a memory when I capture a special mood by using these unusual elements such as gold leaf and the pigments made from stones and plant materials. I feel that I am merging my history and a bit of art history with my current work."

Janice Seino was born in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington in Art and Anthropology. After graduation she went directly to Asia to study art. During her stay in India she co-wrote a book on art technique called Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods and Materials.

Although she no longer does Asian style painting, Janice has recently turned again to some of the lessons she learned from those past studies. For example, in some of her recent portraits Janice has used historical or biographical material or topics such as in the Girl in the Blue Hat which came about from her memories of an Afghani girl she met in Kabul around 1975. In this painting she painted the portrait on a gold leaf background using techniques learned in Japan.

Janice now lives in the Pacific Northwest and has shown her work in local galleries, art festivals and wineries such as Silverlake and Adytum Cellars in Woodinville. She is a founding member and first treasurer of the Woodinville Artists Association ( www.woodinvillearts.org). Janice also makes jewelry and was a student of the very accomplished and well-known jewelry master, Ramona Solberg. Besides painting in her studio at home, Janice teaches painting, jewelry making and crafts in the Northshore school district's after school art programs.