Art Beat
September 2007

Trip to Venice Inspires Local Artist
by Steve Rumsey

Artist Jan Beardsley and her friend and fellow artist, Eleanor Distler, treated themselves to a 16-day trip to Italy last fall, and Jan came back inspired by all the amazing art they saw while there, especially by the mosaics of Venice, which, in her words, "just blew me away." In fact, she says she absolutely fell in love with that city, one of the crown jewels of European art and architecture. She returned home determined to try her hand at this ancient medium.

The result, as you can see from our cover, is impressive. This piece, her first mosaic ever, but not her last, is called "Le sorelle del fiore," which means "Sisters of the Flower" in English. It's 25 inches square and made from glass smalti and 24 carate gold. The glass is imported from Venice where it is made at the Angelo Orsoni Furnace. As she explained, "The same family has been making this glass smalti in the same way since the mid 1800's." While the medium is new to Jan, the themes and style of her work will be familiar to those who have seen her clay and other pieces, which often feature faces peering from within flowers in contemporary designs. As for her technique, she explained that "[e]ach piece has been individually hand cut to fit where needed. The size variations of the pieces, as well as the direction they are set, are equally important as the color choices are to the overall design of your piece."

She has entered the work in a competition called the Orsoni Prize 2007 International Award for Mosaic Fine Art, sponsored by the company which produces the glass. Should she win, she and her mosaic will win a trip back to Venice. (Good luck, Jan!)

The mosaic is on display at Picture Perfect, 344 N. Main in Colville (entrance in the back). For more information, call Jan at 684-3178.

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