Your Host
Local artist Jane Andres is setting aside her award winning watercolours after developing a new medium to express her many interests. Born and raised in St. Catharines, the Niagara Peninsula provided a fertile environment for fostering the love of local history, music and art. As a teenager her parents were a great source of encouragement to her and many Sunday afternoons were spent hiking along the escarpment trails.

Exploring and gathering artifacts from gardens and forest paths, overgrown orchards and forgotten homestead sites has become a lifelong source of fascination. It has unlocked a world of untold stories that resonate deep in the forest and surrounding historic communities. Some "treasures" such as a clay pipe stem made by W.White of Scotland were found in the garden of her 130 year old home prior to her move to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Her interests at the crossroads of local history and art have culminated in exquisite pieces of handmade work in hydrastone. Her templates are created not from reproductions but the original artifact, chronicling the pre-loyalist years to the late 1800's.

Each unique piece captures the subtlety of burnished iron and copper alongside the delicate details of a fragment of lace or weathered wood. Arrowheads careful sculpted by the Neutral Indians that have survived for centuries despite their exposure to the elements have retained their angular clarity and have been faithfully replicated to their state on the forest floor in which they were found.

Through her work she hopes to evoke memories of our collective past and create tangible realities from those far off memories. Recently she has expanded her portfolio to include handpainted pears and apples with templates made from some of Niagara's finest orchards. Meticulous handpainting has rendered them indistinguishable from the original right down to the hint of dew from an early morning visit to the orchard.

Whether mounted in an elegantly carved frame or displayed alone under gallery lights, these works will enhance any decor from Victorian to contemporary. Each piece is of museum quality yet very affordable. Ms. Andres is also available for commissioned work for local museums and private collections.

Applewood Hollow Bed & Breakfast 2230 4 Mile Creek Road, RR#3, Niagara on the Lake L0S 1J0
Phone: 905 468-0408 Fax: 905 468-8679 Email: jandres@niagara.com