About Ianthe Jackson
I am Ianthe Jackson and I have been an artist my whole life. I make all sorts of artwork and I always find it hard to stick to one thing. I am just very curious. I will go from drawing to sculpture to weaving and back to drawing again! Over the past few years I have been struck by nature. I have always been attentive to it, while walking around NYC with my son when he was little I always pointed out anything growing or anything in the natural world. The persistence of nature in NY always captures me.
I was born and raised in Buffalo NY and left in a hurry at 18 to see the world! I lived briefly in New Orleans to learn about the roots of American Music. From there I went to Kenya for a year and then Austin TX and then to NYC and never looked back.
I came to NYC to go to school at School of Visual Arts and studied Printmaking and Sculpture. I loved going to school there. I worked so hard to be able to go there.
After graduating I began teaching english at El Centro de Education de Trabajadores. (workers education center) and I fell in love with teaching. Then I was offered a job in the Department of Education and my love of teaching was very challenged to say the least! But that is a story for another day!
I continued on making my art and playing accordion until I decided to go back to school for an MFA at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.
This is me and my son standing in from of my Stilt House in Ridgefield Park NJ through Art Mora Gallery's sculpture park. The sculpture was installed but not detailed yet.
I also loved going to school there! I graduated with an MFA in Sculpture. This period of time I really began to have some great experiences with my art. I traveled to europe for shows and residencies and I had some great shows that were a real turning point for me.
Now I am working in my studio in the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park Brooklyn. It s such an amazing spot! Right on the waterfront and you can even catch a ferry there. Below are my two studio mates and I, we set up a table for a holiday fair. We call our space Cloud of Bats. To the left is a video of me printing a collograph plate for Valentine's Day
Another aspect of my life is our beloved lake house in the Catskills. This is my son creating a large drawing in the snow on the frozen lake. The house has been a sanctuary from the city and this is where we lived during the pandemic. It was a wonder because I could watch the seasons change day by day. During the spring when the lake was melting we would go in the kayaks and weave our way on the melted pathways around the large ice patches. The birds, racoons and even a bear came to our deck to visit us. It is a place of great love!