Jill Airiel Weber

A little about the artist

Jill Airiel Weber is the artisan/owner of Berrywood Studio in Bloomington, IN since 1997. My art is called "Halomirror". My halomirrors consist of an 18" circular mirror, edge-beveled 1", with a 10" solid hardwood frame made from native Indiana trees. I router a shallow track into the wood and paint in these tracks symbols, patterns, or scenes. The painted tracks represent the stories of the trees that they share with us once we can see beneath the surface - much like people! I believe the trees contain the history of the Universe and in a single scratch they can communicate to us the story of Atlantis or Indy racing flags or the Hopi Indians. I believe the circle is the Universe's greatest art form and within this circle I travel on the "green trace". I use no exotic woods and renew the native wood I use by planting seedlings and allowing the land to reforest by natural succession. My paints and finishes are water-based or natural oils which are environmentally-friendly. In my shop, I reduce the use of power tools whenever feasible and use natural light when possible. The sawdust is recycled in the form of mulch and compost and wood scraps are used as auxiliary heat. I also try to reuse packing materials. I respect the spirit of the wood, the life of the Earth, and the wisdom of the Universe.

FOLK

FOLK has a landscape folk art scene which is the larger semi-circle and a seascape folk art scene in the smaller semi-circle to the left. Colors are primarily sky, grass, ocean, red, yellow, white, and multi. The panel of wood separating the two scenes is slightly raised and distressed. The wood is black cherry with see-through knotholes and rough-sawn areas, creating a primitive look. It is finished in natural tung oil. For a closer look visit my website www.halomirror.com.

KOKOPELLI

KOKOPELLI is a Hopi kachina or spirit that roams the land playing the flute and planting tree seeds that it carries on its back. This mirror, made of black walnut, has a primitive look with the pieced boards of mismatched dimensions, rough-sawn areas, and worm tracks. A large diagonal strip of wood resembles a flute with painted images of Kokopelli that are found in the caves and petroglyphs of Oraibi, Chaco Canyon, and Gila Bend. The humpbacked ring around the mirror is painted with leafing seed sprouts and magical musical notes, and the colors are sage, terra cotta, dusk, and gold. The flute and painted groove are coated with linseed oil and beeswax. The rest of the walnut wood is left natural. For a closer look visit my website www.halomirror.com.

INDY

INDY is painted with the bright colors of the flags of car racing; green, red, yellow, white, black, blue with orange stripe, and, of course, checkered. The wood is red oak with lively grain patterns and streaks of light sapwood. The finish is durable lacquer. For the overall look visit my website www.halomirror.com.

Jill Airiel Weber
Berrywood Studio
1523 N. Oard Road Bloomington, Indiana 47404-9366
812-876-4744
berrywoodstudio@hotmail.com