In 1982-1983 Beeny completed an art foundation course at the Rochdale College of Art. During this time the making of pots on the wheel played a large role in her work. When she went on to do her B.A Hons in ceramics in Cardiff she took her liking for making these pots to a different level and began to make hand built pots. These pots were not always functional but most of them included lids.
Contemplation and observation play a big part in the development of Beeny's character-full pieces, which are largely based on animals, landscapes and baroque influences. The inclusion of animals in Benny's work was not introduced until a later date. At a time in which Beeny was still formulating a lot of her ideas, she was working as an illustrator at Cardiff City farm. Being surrounded by so many animals at that time was the major influence that pushed her artistic ideas to go in the direction of animals. I questioned Beeny about her influences towards her work and she informed me that apart from the work at Cardiff City Farm, it was holidays to landscape areas where there was an abundance of the same sort of animals that were on the farm such as sheep and horses.
Janet Beeny's Goats.
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Beeny's Work in Context.
The form which Beeny's pieces take are one-off slab built pieces on a variety of scales. The influences that fuel these pieces are not only in the animals overall shape, but the pieces are based on the ways in which the animals move and behave together with how human societies throughout time have been compelled to bestow significance upon animals by producing images, objects, stories and mythologies. I feel that these ideas are relevant when looking at artists such as Blandine Anderson. Apart from the similarity of wanting to capture the way in which animals move and behave, there is a great reference to the ideas and influences of Blandine Andersons work.
