JANE
FREEMAN
JANE
FREEMAN
Miniaturist/Artist
Links to more information:
Jane’s book: The
Art of the Miniature
Sarah Lawrence
College Alumni interview
The Jane Files: Monthly Articles in DollHouse
Miniatures Magazine
Who
are you?
Tell
us a little bit about yourself and your interests in general.
I earn my living by editing books as a
freelancer, and sometimes illustrating books. I have returned to painting (oil
on masonite) after making miniatures for 15 years. I spend a lot of time
in solitude, doing yoga, meditation, etc. I have 2 shelties and 2
rescue cats.
What
drew you to the Beauty and the Beast TV series, and why did you feel
the need to express yourself in
making B&B Miniature's?
Had you worked with Miniatures
before being involved with Beauty and the
Beast or did it develop from
it?
My
first exposure to the show was one night when I turned on the TV and
accidentally caught the episode about the deaf girl. I'd never before heard
of B&B. I was instantly thrilled by everything about it--the photography,
the characters, and the story. Many weeks later, I found out that there was
something called fandom. Sam Goody was sponsoring Ron Perlman's recording. I
went there to meet him and was surprised to see the line wrapped around the
entire block. I think it was on Sixth Ave (Ave. of the Americas) somewhere
midtown. While waiting in line to get Ron's autograph, I met some fans who
told me the story--how Vincent met Catherine. I had no idea!
Meanwhile,
I'd just begun making miniatures--my first, in 1986, was a replica of Thornfield
Hall from Jane Eyre. When I finally saw the B&B pilot, I fell madly
in love with Vincent's Chamber and made a replica of it in one of my
bookshelves. Father's Study followed, and after that, the subway station... I've
made all the sets, including 2 of the D.A.'s office, the drainage culvert, etc.
How did B&B affect your life?
It
made me even more inward than I already was; increased my affinity for solitude
and reflection. I had a boyfriend at the time, who really was a great guy, but
not very chivalrous or unconditional (well, neither was I). In fact, we
were well matched in our solipsism. I remember once during a fight, I
yelled, "You're certainly no Vincent!" And he yelled right back,
"And you're no Catherine, either!" He couldn't stand the
show--thought it sentimental, predictable, lowbrow & trite. But
being an architect, he was useful--he helped me with the layout of
Catherine's apartment, which was not easy. I'm happy to say that once we split
up we became excellent friends. His current girlfriend, come to
think of it, bears a slight resemblance to Linda Hamilton. You know;
the elegant corporate look, the straight, chin-length, swingin, honey-blond
hair... Maybe the show rubbed off on him after all.
Which
of your B&B works do you like best, and why? If you were forced to
pick one of your works as a
favorite, what would it be?
That's like asking a mother of 15 who her favorite child is. I
guess I'd have to say Vincent's Chamber, because it was my first, and is
one of the most mysterious.
How
long have you been making miniatures? If you started when you were a
child/teenager, do you still have
some of your work from that time? Did you
share it with your friends then?
Like most children, I always made constructions. I never owned
a dollhouse, nor was I interested in the commercial kind, but I did make one for
a school project. Instead of looking at it, you looked down into it. It was like
a 3-dimensional layout, a replica of my room. Since I had no friends even
then, and I stayed alone as much as possible even then, I didn't share
my art with anyone. I even avoided the company of my 3 younger sisters. Now
that the 4 of us are in middle age, we're as close as can be. They are my 3
favorite women in the world.
Who
most influenced and/or encouraged your talent? What training have you
had for techniques you use, and
where, if it was formal training - or are
you self-taught, working from
instinct?
I'm
one of those over-educated artistes who was lucky enough to be encouraged from
infancy. When I was 3, one day my dad got me quiet by doodling on
a placemat in a restaurant. He passed the squiggly line to me and
said, "Finish it." What fun! That was my first drawing. From then on I
wanted to be an artist. As a child I won scholarships and contests all the time, and
in senior year of high school, was voted the most outstanding art student
in the county (which had hundreds of schools). That was the Silver
Knight Award). In college I majored in literature, but I did some
printmaking and painting. After that I went to graduate school at the
University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and focused on painting. Then I
moved to New York. In a tiny studio apartment I made wall-size oil paintings.
When I moved downtown, to Tribeca, 2 years later, I had a large loft
but made very small paintings. Go figure.
How do you choose the subject of your work? What. What do you
imagine
first - the content of the work or
the emotion you want it to convey?
That's as hard question. I think the feeling or emotion must
come first, otherwise it is merely an exercise in illustrative materialism. My
fascination with B&B compelled me to recreate it for myself. I did
the same thing with the novel Jane Eyre. So taken was I by
that masterpiece that I simply had to re-invent it. I tried many ways before
coming upon the idea of the miniature. First I painted enormous oil
paintings as mock book illustrations. Then I rendered small watercolors.
Nope. Then I wrote a long essay, a subjective appreciation, which later was
published in the Bronte Society Newsletter. None of these satisfied me.
Then one day, as I sat at my desk, I found myslf gazing into a semi-empty bookshelf.
Without thinking, I took some fancy gift-wrapping paper and made it into
wallpaper. Then I made a little fireplace. I somehow rigged a wingback
chair and a desk and a tiny box of cigars--and that was the beginning of
Thornfield Hall.
Did you create your Miniatures from scratch, or find
inspiration in
photographs, video scans and such?
Or both?
I built them from scratch, based on watching the episodes over
and over, sometimes taking notes, listing as many details as I could find in
each episode that contained a certain scene. When I showed "Catherine's
Place" at a convention in NYC, some of the scriptwriters were present. They
asked me how I got the apartment so perfectly, down to the last detail. I said
"by watching the episode [I think it was "The Watcher"] over and
over.] They said, "We wish we could have had it as we were writing that
story. It would have made logistics so much easier."
Have you or do you presently produce work for any other
fandoms besides B&B?
Are you or have you been involved
with any other fandoms in the same way?
No,
never, to any degree.
Do you use your artistic talents professionally or wish to? Do
you have any
current projects you'd like to
share with us?
I've had shows and commissions over the years. My ambition in
having a viable career, which is a fulltime job in itself, has diminished,
for I want to spend my time more richly--that is, I'm not willing to fight
for recognition anymore. I feel absolutely free in disassociating myself from
"the art scene." Sometimes I get invited to participate in a show;
sometimes someone by word of mouth will buy a piece; but usually I stay alone
and work. Now I'm painting again. As I get quieter and more inward, the
subject matter becomes less obvious. They're about color, primarily. My
paintings are about paint, though they may ride on the vehicles of
landscape, still-life, figure, face....
Note:
Jane Freeman’s Beauty and the Beast miniatures have been featured as
recently as
Winterfest Online
2005
Lesley’s Tribute to Jane Freeman: Visit
the World of BATB in Miniature
I asked Jane what inspired her to create these wonderful works of
art. Here is her reply:
What inspired me to construct the sets
in the first place was my complete ADORATION and OBSESSION with the themes and
characters in Beauty and the Beast. Also, the sets themselves were unlike any
I'd ever seen on television--beautiful, complex, symbolic, poetic, imaginative,
rich, archetypal. I started with Vincent's Chamber, naturally--and went on from
there, until all the sets were made.
I NEVER CEASE TO BE AMAZED BY THE MANY TALENTED PEOPLE IN
OUR I
NEVER CEASED TO BE AMAZED AT THE MANY TALENTED PEOPLE IN OUR FANDOM. HERE YOU
CAN SEE AND EVEN PURCHASE, THE WONDERFUL WORK OF JANE FREEMAN. THE SCENE YOU SEE
ABOVE IS A SET FROM THE SHOW, BUT WITH A DIFFERENCE! IT HAS BEEN LOVINGLY AND
PAINSTAKINGLY CONSTRUCTED IN MINIATURE. THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN THIS WORK OF
ART IS TRULEY AMAZING
These
miniatures are mostly 1" (doll house) scale. Some scenes are small and
intimate, some quite large. "Catherine's Place" is a tv studio in the
round, including various film departments: carpentry, craft service, matte
painting, props. It is based on the episode "The Watcher" where
Catherine is stalked in her apartment. This diorama is about 36" square and
13" high. I took it to a B&B convention years ago, and the writers of
that episode happened to be there. They were amazed by how perfect it was and
said they wished they could have used it to work from as they were writing
"The Watcher"! I've made miniatures of all the sets from B&B and
sell colour postcards of 15 of them.
The
post cards available are:
A
set of 15 cards includes the story behind the making of each scene. If you are
wondering where the dioramas are, I still have most of them here in my studio.
Below the City, Father's Study and Vincent's Chamber are built into bookshelves.
The others arebuilt into discrete boxes. Breakfast Below is now part of the
collection of the Museum of the City of New York. Kristopher's Haunt was bought
by a collector from Florida, and Central Park, Winter by a collector from New
York. The children's chamber was so big I had to take it apart eventually for
lack of space. The DA's office, Catherine's Place, and Gizmos, as well as some
others, are for sale. I also have the following scenes that are not available as
post cards, but they are available as color laser photocopies. They are: