Marla J. Janes draws her note cards in her 156 year old home on the banks of the Fox River in Princeton, Wisconsin. In rooms that were once her grandmother's dining room and kitchen, she creates these little drawings of historic buildings. What started out as an attempt to save a house across the street from her home that was slated for demolition, she drew the first card, had them printed, and handed them out everywhere. From that moment on, the drawings became a passion.
Marla is an architectural designer. For years she did her design work with pencils and a drawing board. When her architectural design work became completely computerized, the hand drawn note cards became a sanctuary of sorts.keeping a pencil in her hands and "sketching" a part of her life.
She is most fond of drawing old historic buildings, but has done countless drawings of homes for family and friends, for businesses in Princeton and Fond du Lac, and for clients of her architectural design business. All of her note card drawings are completely hand-rendered, including the lettering, and then taken to a printer. Any touches of color are done by hand on each card.
Architectural design has been her life's work and joy for over 20 years. Drawing with a pencil is her first love, and these cards, now, truly come from within her heart. "The desire to draw, no matter how small I feel in the realm of the "art world", is something I have cherished my whole life." she said. "Even as a child, I would draw for hours, creating whole cities and landscapes on rolls of paper my dad would bring home from work. My grandson came into my office one day when he was 5, looked around at the pencils, colored pencils, paper, and drawings and said, 'wow, grandma, you get paid to color all day?'" I thought about it for a minute and replied, 'Yes, I guess I do.' He's 15 now, and it still makes me smile to think of that wide-eyed observation of his.and of mine. The five-year-old child in me gets to stay and play."
Marla was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January of 1954. She grew up in Green Lake, and now lives in what was her grandmother's house on the Fox River in Princeton, Wisconsin. She has two children and four grandchildren, who are the center of her universe.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
