Jane turns odd bits into famous faces

ARTIST Jane Perkins' iconic portraits are made entirely from odds and ends found in random places.

The handicrafter from Kenton has depicted Barack Obama; his wife Michelle; the Queen; David Beckham; Nelson Mandela; Madonna and Boris Johnson in collages made out of items from car boot sales, secondhand shops, junkyards and recycling centres.

"I use secondhand buttons, toys, beads, jewellery and shells," said Jane, 51. "Anything dainty and colourful that I can get my hands on.

"I love art with an element of fun and the unexpected, and see myself as a re-maker, taking inspiration from found objects and working them into something new."

Jane's reputation for using recycled materials has come in handy with her neighbours.

"People in the village have started leaving bags of their unwanted stuff on my doorstep for me to use in my pieces," she said. "I'm like a magpie, I relish going through the items and matching them to the colours I need for my pictures."

In Jane's portraits Barack Obama's ear is a made out of a plastic kangeroo, Nelson Mandela's nose is an action man's leg and Boris Johnson's hair is made out of a toy skeleton's rib cage.

She said: "I start with an enlarged photograph of the person I want to depict, then go about attaching objects.

"I use cut up plant pot markers for the teeth, and plastic forks come in handy for giving the hair a textured, spiky look. The only materials I buy especially are the eye beads as they look very real and help to capture emotion in the picture."

Jane's innovative work caused quite a stir in the media recently when she held an exhibition at The Cafe, in Topsham.

"The interest in my work was quite sudden and unexpected," she said. "Lot's of people picked up my postcards and before long BBC Spotlight was interested in doing a piece on me, followed by the national press."

She was then whisked off to appear on the Alan Titchmarsh show on ITV.

"It was very exciting being on TV," said Jane. "My eldest son joined me to help carry all the pictures.

"Alan Titchmarsh was really friendly and down-to-earth. I presented him with his own portrait as a surprise."

Jane is married to John, 53, a GP, and has two children Matthew, 16 and Charlie, 11.

She said: "Although I have never stolen my sons' toys to use in my portraits, my studio workshop is next to Charlie's bedroom and often he spots items that I had been planning to use and nabs them himself."

Jane, a former nurse, achieved a first class honours degree in Interior Textiles at the Somerset College Of Arts and Technology in 2006.

"I had always enjoyed art and being creative," said Jane. "But my degree really re-awoke my creative side.

"On the course we did a recycling project, which I think is where the idea for my portraits stemmed from.

"Initially I made bird models from pieces of driftwood. This was good fun as the whole family got involved with scouring nearby beaches for wood of unusual shapes and sizes.

"I also studied traditional headdresses made in the South American country of Equador. People over there stuck plastic animals on to their designs which I liked, so I made a copy."

In 2005 Jane started making brooches.

She said: "While researching for my thesis on art and design from recycled materials, I began creating brooches.

"They are quite large and richly decorated with jewellery, plastic toys, coins, shells and other found objects. I hand-stitch everything onto antique braid, backed with felt.

"They are quite quirky, some are fun and funky while others are classic and more restrained. They are sold in a London fashion boutique, and apparently they go down very well with trendy fashionistas."

Jane has found a local art group to be a big support.

She said: "Devon Open Studios has been a great help. It is perfect for networking with other West country artists and often puts on group exhibitions."

Jane has high hopes for the future. She said: "I would love to be able to hold more exhibitions, it would be great display my work in a gallery in London one day.

"Ideally, I would like to have an art agent, but I know it's very difficult for a new artist to get professional representation.

"I am hoping that by putting on exhibitions, knowledge of my work will spread."

Portraits cost around £1000 a pop and Jane is happy to take on commissions.

"I am always on the lookout for broken and unwanted toys to use in my collages," she said. "You never know a Barbie's arm could be part of a famous nose!"

To donate items email jane@ co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bluebowerbird.co.uk.

For more information on her work visit www.bluebowerbird. co.uk.