Creating things is as fundamental to me as breathing. My mind is full of ideas swirling around, and they need to be explored. The brain and the hands are itching to find out what will develop.
Growing up in eclectic San Francisco with a machinist/inventor father, a couturier mother and a stack of sisters and brothers, I was surrounded by fabulous one-of-a-kind treasures. 25 years of Grand Opera set design, theatre and costume design honed my skills in creating entire fantastic worlds. Now I design jewelry, sculpture and textiles, bringing richness and functionality to every aspect of my life.
Vintage electronic components are a current inspiration. Their colors and sculptural shapes come together to create an entirely different reality than their original purpose, giving new life to things forgotten. With my solid design sense the perfectly ordered Art Deco lines of defunct circuit boards unite with the organic beauty of freshwater pearls in playful colors. Creating unusual color combinations is one of the most satisfying aspects of my work.
Just A Bit More
Today, deep in the forests of rural Oregon, I gather my inspirations, assembling the objects, colors, textures that reflect the mood to be expressed in a design. Playing with the line, I create different emotions with the shapes. I enjoy creating a great whole out of simple parts. My work is done when it needs nothing added, nothing subtracted.
I believing in the efficient use of the world’s resources, and have lived off-grid yet elegantly high-tech for three decades, re-purposing everyday objects to high style. Jean Robertson's work can also be seen at The Web-sters in Ashland, Rogue Gallery in Medford, Gallery One in Grants Pass, Southern Oregon Guild in Kerby, and at her website,