Janet Tanguay was born and raised in Vermont. Her interest in three-dimensional works of art began in her last semester at the University of Vermont. In 2001, she obtained certification as an Expressive Arts Therapist/Creativity Coach at Glass Lake Studio (now called New York Expressive Arts), a European Graduate School, Saas Fe, Switzerland affiliate. She now resides in Amsterdam, New York.
Ms. Tanguay has sold her work nationally and internationally. She practices a Japanese concept called wabi-sabi that speaks to the art of imperfection. Wabi-sabi is really about process, not the end result. Wabi-sabi requires that we take time to pay attention to imperfections. Some of the materials in Tanguay’s paintings include broken drumsticks, a rusty saxophone and a violin without strings. These things could be dismissed as ugly and without value, but wabi-sabi teaches that we are all in a constant state of change, and to value the now. Spend some time with the broken items to look at the details. Notice the curves, the crevices, the angles, the shading, the indents, the drips and the blotches. Tanguay says “The texture in my art matches the texture of my life. It’s not always simple, easy, clean and bright. Namaste is my favorite word. Namaste means ‘I honor the light within you’. Namaste is how I approach my art. I take a smashed guitar, a dented trombone slide or a crooked violin bow, and I approach them with hope. I do the same with people. As a result, my life transforms just as my art transforms.”
