Jeanne LaCasse
Since childhood, I’ve used many different vehicles as my means of expression – drawing, mixed media, collage, photography, painting, fashion & interior design. Drawing inspiration from within & without, knowing that there is art in everyday life & everyday life in art, over time these various activities have informed one another.
My art training began in grade school with my Father, a commercial artist, whose weekend activities included watercolor painting, copper enameling, and working at the Wilmette atelier of renowned ceramist Eugene Deutsch. I recall one visit where they hoisted me up onto a stool to play with the clay & slip. I considered any materials related to art making as my preferred toys. I still do. My mother would have to check my pockets before laundering as they were always crammed with chalk, pencils & crayons.
My Junior High & High School years brought art contest awards & a request to conduct a summer art camp for neighborhood children.
Approaching my college years, I felt compelled to pursue Fashion Design attending the Ray-Vogue College of Design and graduating with top honors. During my 30 years in retail, I held various positions as buyer, department & store manager, in house private label designer & Fashion Director. Charged with the responsibility of reporting worldwide trends, my camera was my constant traveling companion during my tenure as Fashion Director for Marshall Fields. It still is - serving as my visual diary.
Eventually my passion for fashion diminished and in its place the art of interior design took hold. In 2001, I launched my own color consultation/interior design business which enabled me to utilize my artistic talents to fulfill specific needs. It was an immensely rich and rewarding experience.
Over the years, my pursuit of a visual arts education has taken me to China, France, Italy, Argentina, workshops across the US, as well as classes at the Evanston Art Center, Lill Street Art Center, University of Chicago Midway Studios, North Shore Art League, & the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I have been blessed to study with many accomplished artists & photographers including Martin Campos, Mark Eanes, Paul Fowler, Nicki Heenan, Judith Kruger, Louise LeBourgeois, , Mark Russell, Nina Weiss, Cynthia Winika, Dan Anderson, Douglas Beasley, Eddie Soloway, & Regina Mamou to name but a few.
Recently retired, I am now able to return to my roots & engage in the joyful “play” that art making is for me.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My paintings begin long before I walk into my studio.
Upon entering, I see scrawled on the wall French police jargon “Traces Suspectes en Surface” which serves as a reminder that “Things are not as they seem”. As a teenager, Transcendentalism & Metaphysics captured my imagination; philosophies that remain nestled in my subconscious. The intrigue of what lies beyond human sense perception ignites my creative process.
Through the deliberative yet experimental handling of materials my “metaphysical dreamscapes” slowly emerge. Curiosity & Intuition are my companions in that liminal space wherein the invisible becomes visible. The gestation period is joyful, playful, meditative. As my paintings assume a life of their own, the delicate, intimate, pas de deux ensues, where I simultaneously need to be in command and out of control.
My repertoire of embedded images, investigations, musings & mental meanderings are what enable me to create work that encapsulates places I’ve been, places I’ve never been, places that I long to go to.
Since childhood, I’ve used many different vehicles as my means of expression – drawing, mixed media, collage, photography, painting, fashion & interior design. Drawing inspiration from within & without, knowing that there is art in everyday life & everyday life in art, over time these various activities have informed one another.
My art training began in grade school with my Father, a commercial artist, whose weekend activities included watercolor painting, copper enameling, and working at the Wilmette atelier of renowned ceramist Eugene Deutsch. I recall one visit where they hoisted me up onto a stool to play with the clay & slip. I considered any materials related to art making as my preferred toys. I still do. My mother would have to check my pockets before laundering as they were always crammed with chalk, pencils & crayons.
My Junior High & High School years brought art contest awards & a request to conduct a summer art camp for neighborhood children.
Approaching my college years, I felt compelled to pursue Fashion Design attending the Ray-Vogue College of Design and graduating with top honors. During my 30 years in retail, I held various positions as buyer, department & store manager, in house private label designer & Fashion Director. Charged with the responsibility of reporting worldwide trends, my camera was my constant traveling companion during my tenure as Fashion Director for Marshall Fields. It still is - serving as my visual diary.
Eventually my passion for fashion diminished and in its place the art of interior design took hold. In 2001, I launched my own color consultation/interior design business which enabled me to utilize my artistic talents to fulfill specific needs. It was an immensely rich and rewarding experience.
Over the years, my pursuit of a visual arts education has taken me to China, France, Italy, Argentina, workshops across the US, as well as classes at the Evanston Art Center, Lill Street Art Center, University of Chicago Midway Studios, North Shore Art League, & the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I have been blessed to study with many accomplished artists & photographers including Martin Campos, Mark Eanes, Paul Fowler, Nicki Heenan, Judith Kruger, Louise LeBourgeois, , Mark Russell, Nina Weiss, Cynthia Winika, Dan Anderson, Douglas Beasley, Eddie Soloway, & Regina Mamou to name but a few.
Recently retired, I am now able to return to my roots & engage in the joyful “play” that art making is for me.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My paintings begin long before I walk into my studio.
Upon entering, I see scrawled on the wall French police jargon “Traces Suspectes en Surface” which serves as a reminder that “Things are not as they seem”. As a teenager, Transcendentalism & Metaphysics captured my imagination; philosophies that remain nestled in my subconscious. The intrigue of what lies beyond human sense perception ignites my creative process.
Through the deliberative yet experimental handling of materials my “metaphysical dreamscapes” slowly emerge. Curiosity & Intuition are my companions in that liminal space wherein the invisible becomes visible. The gestation period is joyful, playful, meditative. As my paintings assume a life of their own, the delicate, intimate, pas de deux ensues, where I simultaneously need to be in command and out of control.
My repertoire of embedded images, investigations, musings & mental meanderings are what enable me to create work that encapsulates places I’ve been, places I’ve never been, places that I long to go to.