Background & Education

Jan R. Carson is an artist working in Loveland, Colorado. She received her MFA in fibers from Colorado State University. Born in Oklahoma, her education also includes a Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of University Studies from Oklahoma State University, and a student printmaking internship through the OSU Art Department with Universal Limited Art Editions in New York.

Artist Statement, 2022

My textile art is sewn in repetitive cycles of cutting and stitching, and without a plan for the final composition. This process mirrors my restless, inquisitive nature and desire to take risks. Through the actions of separation and connection inherent in sewing, I investigate physical, mental, and emotional relationships.

In recent works, my body’s outline (or a portion of my form) exists within patterned, nonrepresentational environments. The borders of the frame prevent a view of the complete narrative. The figure’s resignation to the scene reflects my feelings of alienation, invisibility, and loss of power in a world of rational and mystical conflict.

I utilize light in my work for its inescapable presence and established psychological meanings. Light is an essential aspect of nature and our existence. It is metaphorically linked with purity, knowledge, and the divine, yet I feel it also infiltrates our darker moments, painful periods of growth, and journeys of transformation.