Artist Profile: Confluence
By Lucia Novara
Nancy Jeffrey and Julie Anderson have many things in common: they both create art inspired by nature's complexity and they both integrate that art into beautiful homes. A recent show of their works at the K. Saari Gallery was titled “Confluence”—an apt description, as their aesthetics seem to flow together in a natural rhythm. Their collaboration in custom home design has created living spaces that bridge the distinction between form and function.
Jeffrey's acrylic paintings are a merging of aesthetic and precise skill. Her pieces are primarily organic subjects in a neutral pallet giving great presence to the use of color. Anyone who has ever picked up a shell or bird's nest and placed it on a shelf will appreciate her juxtaposition of complicated natural objects with simple backgrounds. Her work, inspired by rare birds, reptiles, and insects, is subtly surrealistic.
Nature is also a hallmark of Anderson's work. The shapes of cells and plant life in her work can be traced back to her college studies in biology. Running water appears as a frequent motif in Anderson's work as well; she captures the rippling sheen and shifting patterns so well that you can almost hear the babbling stream.
Many of Anderson's sculptures combine the simplicity of standard geometric forms with all of the intricate detail of natural cells and veins.
"I don't like repeating, but I do it all the time. Branches, veins,
cells, becoming ever more detailed. It's those details that drive me crazy,
but I love them."
Anderson says her relationship with her craft is similar to climbing a 14ner."At 13,000 feet you start to wonder why you're doing it, and sometimes you don't make the top, but the times you do you look back happily."
Anderson specializes in melding ceramic and glass by collaborating with her husband, Greg Grasso of Grasso Glass and Stone. Constantly experimenting with different media, she has created a signature look with her tiles. Using a technique called slumping, sheets of glass are heated to the consistency of liquid plastic and are allowed to slump into a sculpted ceramic mold. The resulting tile is polished on the front, but has the depth and detail of fine ceramics encased within. These tiles find their way into many of her pieces and are popular as custom elements in bathrooms.
Jeffrey is the owner of Studio 211 and partner in Acanthus Design. Studio 211 focuses on interior design and fine art acquisitions while Acanthus designs and builds high-end spec homes. Catamount Ranch, a recent Acanthus project, was featured in the 2008 Colorado Parade of Homes.
Before the design process can begin, Jeffrey explores the prospective space and each client's unique style. She approaches every home with a contemporary eye. The details added are to specifically express each client's taste. Jeffrey's work is more involved with permanent structure than interior decoration; think specialty cabinets, inlaid tile, and custom fireplaces rather than throw pillows.
Jeffrey's focus is her commitment to integrating art pieces into interior design. One example became the centerpiece for her business partner's Steamboat home. The client loved a particular painting of Jeffrey's, but Jeffrey didn't want to part with the original. Instead she offered to reproduce it at the bottom of the pool. As a result, Bill Rangitsch of Steamboat Architectural designed the entire house around the pool; it can be seen from the master bath, dining room, and powder room.
Jeffrey and Rangitsch have since collaborated on more than ten homes. “My best projects are done with Bill,” Jeffrey says. When possible she also works with Cynthia Radcliff of Thurston Kitchen & Bath.
"My job is to interpret [Jeffrey's] vision into precise technical, functional cabinetry drawings and construction details,” Radcliff says, “Together we select products to meet her requirements for the design. Because she has a keen sense of balance and proportion, her visual aesthetic is very pure and uncluttered… I've had people tell me that the spaces are not only beautiful but that they 'just feel right'."
Anderson is a favorite at Studio 211 and Acanthus. She is a natural choice when a specialty piece is needed. Jeffrey will bring Anderson an idea and Anderson's sketches, typically combining the mediums of glass and ceramic, are reviewed with the client before the final product is created for the home.
At Catamount Ranch, Anderson created a piece for the wine cellar exemplifying the impact her work can have on a space. The delicate bas-relief fern mural provides an appropriate balance for the infinity edge spa visible beyond the glass wall at the opposite end of the room. For Jeffrey, the piece is integral to the overall puzzle.
"All design work is a Rubik's cube; you have to keep twisting it until all the sides match up," Jeffrey says.
The confluence of Jeffrey and Anderson's artistic vision flows through each collaboration. Both of these women bring skills, insight and intuition to custom designs for one-of-a-kind living spaces that turn living quarters into a never-ending aesthetic experience. 
Contact Julie Anderson:
www.warehomestudios.com
jkanderson@zirkel.us
970-870-2827
Contact Nancy Jeffrey:
www.studio2eleven.net
www.acanthus-home.com
970-870-2827
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