Collection: Janice Sullivan

BIOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION
Janice Sullivan graduated with a BA in Textiles from Boston University and
Massachusetts College of Art with a Masters in Art Education. She lived in San
Francisco from 1982 - 2005, teaching classes in Weaving and Surface Design and
exhibiting her work both locally and nationally. She has taught at City College of
San Francisco since 1995, as well San Francisco State University and College of
the Redwoods in Fort Bragg, CA. In her thirty five year study of loom
manipulated, multi-tensioned double weave, she has pioneered a new approach
to sculptural textiles. Her work also incorporates painting, printing, stitching and
dyeing techniques. It is represented in many corporate and private collections
across the country including several Kaiser-Permanente Medical Centers,
Moody’s Investment Services, Quantum Corporation, Summit Medical Center &
Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital.
After living in San Francisco for 23 years, Janice Sullivan moved to the Mendocino
area in 2005.

ART STATEMENT

 Weaving more than 30 years, sculptural textiles were my focus . With a migration
from the city to the country the imagery in my work has changed. The weavings
have become woven canvases.
Photographing and mapping my daily walks have provided me with sources of
information and inspiration, in composing new landscapes. My “earth maps” are a
synthesis of abstract and recognizable images.
Weaving my canvas allows me to explore, a variety of materials in conjunction with
complex multi-patterned weave structures. Once the canvas is fabricated, a
juxtaposition of surface texture is established. The cloth is painted, printed, and
stitched to create a rich layered surface of imagery. By exploring reflective
material in conjunction with manipulated surfaces, constantly changing colors are
created in these light reflective textures. I hope these fabrics transport the viewer
to a place they may be familiar with in memory or imagination.
Continuing to explore the structural elements of loom controlled manipulated
surfaces, I have turned to fashion. By producing a line of shawls and scarves,
these fabrics continue to explore my sculptural ideas in textiles that are fashion
conscious. The ideas that began as sculptural relief for the wall have become
adornment for the body. My work in drawing and painting has translated into
complex woven canvases.