HomeMy WebLinkAbout373"Article copied from the Weekend Bay News, Feb. 14,15,16,1992, page 9.
by Marjorie Green
Illustration: Artist Jane Buckles
Artist Jane Buckles leads the kind of life many would envy. From the door of her Claremont-area
home, she can ski or hike for miles through some of Southern Ontario's most beautiful
ski country.
Surrounded by wildlife of every kind, she relaxes in the easy solitude which feeds imagination.
It's the true artist's life.
Not many artists specialize in papier-mâché. But for the past 15 years Jane has considered it her
medium of choice: the ideal way to make her wonderfully whimsical creatures come to life.
Widely known for her ""people"": usually eccentric, gossipy-looking old maids and portly
bespectacled gentlemen just under 5 feet high, Jane also loves to create strange animals.
Her home reflects her sense of humor.
Two life-sized white chickens crane their necks to peer through an empty window at anyone
who passes down their hall. A silly spotted dog, with a stick in his mouth, stands waiting to
play beside a large window in the living room.
Art is everywhere throughout the bright, sprawling home. Much of it bears Jane's own
unmistakable touch.
Married for 27 years to Brian Buckles, a vice-president of a major Canadian insurance
company, she's mother of Kelly and Sean, both now studying at Queen's University.
Jane has worked steadily as an artist since graduating in Fine Arts from the University of
Toronto.
Being blessed with a mother who was also an artist, she was continually experimenting as a
child. ""I always liked fooling around in different arts,"" she says, ""and I still enjoy all kinds of
things — knitting, sewing and drawing.""
For five or six years, Jane taught art in high schools before finally establishing her business.
""When I first started making my living at it, I was doing portraits of people's houses,
doing greeting cards, and sometimes business cards,"" she says. ""Then I did some shows.
Mostly, I guess it was old houses and rural scenes.""
In the early '70s, while primarily involved in drawing and sketching, Jane produced a series of
drawings of heritage homes. This was for People or Planes — a group in which Brian
continues to be involved. It's dedicated to preventing construction of a major airport in north
Pickering.
The resulting book, Historic Pickering, can be found in the local history reference room at the
Pickering Library. It was largely researched by Jane and offers some fine examples of her
earlier work.
Jane's interest in weaving, crochet and stitchery led her into soft sculpture.
For awhile, she enjoyed stitching wall hangings and other works of art.
Woodwork too, even twig art, was experimented with and put aside. Papier-mâché just
seemed to be the most fun.
""It has become quite steady work for a few years now,"" she says smiling. ""Not many people
are working in papier-mâché. I may be the only one doing it.""
Now sold only through Prime Gallery in Toronto and select galleries in Montreal and Detroit,
Jane Buckles' very special sculptures can be seen occasionally in local shows. Her ""Pie Lady""
was on display recently at Whitby's Station Gallery.
Each January and February, the Claremont artist continues to set some time aside to
experiment. With just a weekly trip to the city to pick up supplies or deliver finished pieces,
she spends her days engrossed in creation, in her large, white, second-floor studio.
Surrounded by windows and weather and music, she can enjoy freely the true artist's life.
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