Interview with Janas Durkee

By Jessica Johnson

Janas Durkee is, above all else, a storyteller. The youngest of five children born to a farming family in Richmond, Indiana, she earned her MFA at Ball State University. Later, she received a Creative Renewal Fellowship through the Eli Lilly Foundation which allowed her to travel to Africa. Although she originally planned to paint landscapes and animals during her fellowship, she was instead led to paint portraits of the people she met. Africa is where Janas learned how much the story behind the subject means to her.

I interviewed Durkee in her Santa Cruz garage studio where we talked about her creative life as a mother, teacher, and artist.

How long have you lived in SC? What brought you here?

We moved here three years ago in August. We followed my husband’s job.

How has living here influenced your creativity?

It’s influenced me in a couple different ways. One, there is physical beauty all around you but there is also this disparity which is an interesting juxtaposition. It’s also been really nice to build a network through the Arts Council. Everyone is so generous with their time and energy.

Are there other creatives in your family? Parents? Siblings?

My father was very artistic. He had to be an artist on the farm because when you need something you weld something together, you don’t go out to the store – it’s just too far. My second oldest brother was drawing all the time and welding and building go-karts. The sister right before me was drawing all the time and my uncle, who was an architect, was a really big influence.

What is the first thing you remember making/writing/creating?

I remember in third grade my sister and I were sitting at the breakfast table and I drew Barney Rubble off the box of Fruity Pebbles on the table. My sister said, “Oh my gosh that looks just like him!” After that, in true big sister fashion, she made me do her artwork for her. I drew the outer and inner ear for her science project — and she got an A.

When did you first call yourself an “artist”?

I called myself an artist for the first time as I was walking home after a drawing class. I realized that the drawings I had just done of the model – no one had helped – it was all me. Nobody gave me advice, nobody edited anything. What was on that paper came from who I was and what I could do.

What is your daily routine?

In the morning, the first thing I do is take care of business office stuff. I check the website, order new cards, apply to a show, that kind of thing. Once it warms up [in her garage studio] I come out and start working on images.

Do you have dry spells? What do you if you do?

I have times when I am not working, but I don’t consider those dry.

What are you working on now?

I’m getting ready to apply for Open Studios. It’s a lot of work, but I love a good deadline!

Who are your creative idols? Why?

I love Alice Neel, she is probably my favorite. One, I love her work, it’s beautiful stuff, but she is so unapologetic about it…she was an artist first and foremost and everything else fell behind.

What is the best advice you have been given about being an artist?

Some of the best advice was from my college professor who said, “You need to get over yourself. Your talent is there you just gotta unlock it and quit second-guessing everything.”

Mistake you learned the most from?

I stopped painting for a couple of years because I was in a relationship with a very good artist. His needs took over mine. I thought he was so much more superior than I was and that there was only room for one. I did that to myself. That was my biggest mistake.

What is the biggest myth about creativity?

That it’s magical, that it just comes to you, that there’s no work needed, that it just happens. There is a lot of work. There’s a lot of mental anguish. There’s a lot of late nights drinking wine! [Laughs]

Why is being creative important to you?

I love being a creative person. I can’t imagine being anything else. There have been times it seems like being something else would have been a lot easier, But I embrace the weird, ‘cause it’s not really weird at all, it’s being human. It’s who I am. If I’m not doing something creative, if I am not in that flow, I am cheating everyone around me, including myself, because I am not being authentic.

What is your definition of a CREATIVE LIFE?

My creative life really has a lot to do with — not just nurturing my art career – but creating a different way to look at the world…it’s what I cook for dinner, it’s who I make as friends, it’s how I spend my days. I can’t imagine not having beauty around me, or not being curious about something. That’s what a creative live is – to be curious.

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Visit Janas Durkee’s website at www.janasdurkeearts.com to see more of her work, contact her for commissions, or to be kept up to date on shows and upcoming exhibits.

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Raised in Aptos, Jessica Johnson is a poet, author and blogger dedicated to helping others live brave, creative lives. Read more about her creative journey at www.vinegarandvanilla.com. Email your questions, comments and creative suggestions to her at jessica@vinegarandvanilla.com