Jan Estep
418 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis,
MN
55455
As an artist I have worked in a wide range of media including video, photography, drawing, painting, embroidery, artist books, site-specific maps, and creative writing. I have always been interdisciplinary and experimental in my creative research, mixing visual and literary media, making and thinking, art and philosophy. My early artwork is heavily conceptual. I loved that approach and continue to feel the influence of ideas. Yet, seeking greater bodymind integration and a deeper connection to what might be called soul or spirit, my focus over recent years has shifted from conceptual to more participatory, performative, and process-based approaches to artmaking. Since 2015 I have certified in teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Kundalini Yoga and these trainings have increasingly found their way into my studio and teaching. My practice is also informed by Buddhist Vipassana meditation, process art, and expressive arts. A growing emphasis on combining somatic, contemplative, and art practices now shapes my creative research.
Educational Background
- M.F.A.: Studio Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1997 - none
- B.A.: Biology and Art, Bucknell University, 1984 - none
- Ph.D.: Philosophy, Washington University, 1993 - none
Specialties
- somatic and contemplative approaches to art (art and yoga, art and mindfulness)
- text works, artist books, and independent publishing
- interdisciplinary approaches to art (art and philosophy, art and cognitive neuroscience)
- writing on the arts, creative nonfiction writing