Janet L. Marsano

Currently living in the beautiful Mohican area of Ohio, Janet Marsano earned a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. in jewelry and metalsmithing with an emphasis on enamels from Ohio State University. She then worked as a goldsmith at the Diamond Cellar and later at Jack Seibert's both in Columbus, OH. After a marriage, a family and a move, she started her second career as a high school art teacher and as an adjunct to Kenyon College teaching drawing. Covid was the catalyst that ended the teaching career but created the desire to return to drawing and jewelry making. It was an interest in drawing on scratchboard that inspired her to begin using small pieces of scratchboard as the gems in her jewelry work.

My design shapes are simple geometrics, triangles, circles, rectangles. The use of scratchboard as the gemstone allows me draw an image that is geometric or organic. I can incorporate recognizable images from nature or pure pattern. The scratchboard can be colored using inks, pencils or watercolors. I like the soft look of a satin surface on the finished sterling silver pieces.