the last word /
aw view
[From left] Jan’s mother at General Motors in 1944; Jan, photographed by Larry Kolvoord.
The Beat Goes On Learning to decorate a multi-layered cake with pastry tubes configured from cut paper always seemed natural to me as a child. I am a professional artist represented by Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. The path to my career and love of making art is the outcome of everything I learned from my amazing mother, Eleanor Vaillancourt Nief. She taught me to observe and see beyond the obvious, and take time to record ideas, moments, words and visions, the pockets of inspiration that can happen anywhere. She also gave me unconditional love, a gift that, as a mother, I strive to share with my daughters and grandsons. Growing up in Detroit with artist parents, I thought everyone was an artist. My mother was an illustrator for General Motors, my father a freelance display artist. My grandfather was an automotive designer for Henry Ford. Winter days in Detroit often found my brother and I helping Mom set up a photo shoot in the living room with floodlights and backdrops, or arranging still lifes on the dining-room table that would be drawn with charcoal. Mom was a master pastry whiz, a 1950s-style version of Ace of Cakes, making baked creations for every friend’s event that needed a cake or a pie. (I thought every household had pastry tubes in their kitchen drawers.) Evenings were spent practicing brush lettering and calligraphy with my dad at his big drawing table in the basement. We did not have a TV until I was 10. When we did finally get the TV, my mom sat and drew gesture drawings from the figures on the screen. We spent our quiet time reading voraciously with flashlights tucked under the tented bed covers. We were always at the public library, checking out stacks of books. When the ice thawed and spring finally arrived, we would drive outside the
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city. Mom would always have her sketchbook and her camera. She had one of the first Polaroid cameras, and we thought it was magic. Every road trip was interrupted with frequent stops to view an unusual plant growing on the roadside. There was never a journey that went straight from point A to point B. She was constantly collecting and sketching ideas for future paintings and sculptures. We planted the garden with black raspberries, rhubarb and Swiss chard, and then cooked and preserved the bounty. We visited my grandmother, who grew grapes and made wine (my brother and I were her favorite pickers). We produced talent shows in our neighborhood and promoted the events with flyers, and sold tickets. I was the costume designer and marketing person. Mom helped with sewing our elaborate costumes. We were very entrepreneurial and always trying to figure out a way to supplement our allowances. There was a lemonade stand, a babysitting job, a newspaper to be delivered, a bouquet or a handmade potholder to be sold door to door. We roller skated, rode bikes, ice skated in our backyard, played tennis with our dad in the street, hula hooped, cooked together and were never bored. I always knew I would be an artist like my parents. I look at my daughters: Kristin, an entrepreneurial spa owner (Hiatus Spa + Retreat in Austin and Dallas); Allison, a talented chef and marketing leader at Whole Foods Market; and Maryam, an accomplished event planner. I know my mom would be very proud to see what these girls are doing! And the beat goes on.
–Jan Heaton
July’s Last Word topic will be “What I Love About Austin” To be considered, email a 500-word submission by June 1 to thelastword@awmediainc.com.