Fused glass artist Janet Foley runs an interactive tent during the Fresh Paint festival.
She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It doesn’t work for me to stand up and sell. For me, it’s interacting and exciting people about the possibilities of glass,” Foley said. “I’m excited for other people to get addicted to glass.”
And at this year’s Fresh Paint along Everett’s marina, Foley will have her share of glass groupies and first-timers who will choose from a smorgasbord of glass pieces to create their own plates, tiles or magnets. And something new this year, Foley will also help visitors make their own door knobs and pulls.
This interactive art-making idea is what launched Foley’s teaching career with the Arts Council of Snohomish County, where she guides students in classes on fused glass mosaic basics and plate making.
Foley has worked as an accountant and property manager but has a background in early childhood education and has done art in one form or another all her life. So when she discovered fused glass as a hobby, it snowballed into teaching and sharing her passion for glass on more of a full-time basis.
“I feel like it’s not even me talking, it’s like I’m up above watching myself talking, and I amaze myself with the knowledge of glass I’ve acquired,” she said.
She approaches her arts council students the same way she handles Fresh Paint visitors: No prior art knowledge is necessary. Just come with ideas and create.
Foley said that for every 25 students she teaches, at least one of them will go on to get a kiln.
“Glass is mesmerizing and addictive.”
Hometown: Snohomish.
Age: 50
Occupation: Artist, property manager, accountant, teacher
Hobby: Gardening, hiking. “Being as far away from the concrete jungle as I can be.”
First book read: “The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz has influenced her life for many years.
Latest accomplishment: Producing a large-scale glass mural – 10 panels, each 22 by 30 inches – with artist Cheri O’Brien to be installed at a Burien elementary school. Foley has also made the teaching roster for the Washington State Arts Commission and will be teaching as part of the Arts Now program at Edmonds Community College.
Why do you do what you do: “I love it. I have a passion for it. I lose my sense of time. There’s just not anything else in my life where I’ve had to ask myself ‘Did I eat? What time is it?’ It’s a wonderful space to be in.”
Quote: “Imagination is as important as knowledge,” Albert Einstein.
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