– Jane
· · · Jane’s Thread · · ·
Nothing Beautiful Happens Alone
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2026 Years ago, as an art major in college, I visited an Adolph Gottlieb exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum. A guard pointed out an elderly man moving through the space ahead of me. "That's the artist," he whispered. ...
I Had Good Clay
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2026 The day after Professor Cavanaugh asked me to be the property mistress for the fall 1969 production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, he called me into his office. I knew nothing about the plot line or magnitude of...
I Crossed The River
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2026 Last year I signed up to audit (for free) an art class at Hunter College. As a lifelong learner, I couldn’t resist. The registrar pointed me to an opening in a course called Everything is Personal (last spring’s...
Owed To New York
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2026 I moved to New Jersey on March 11, leaving Manhattan after nearly fourteen years as a full-time resident. A team of organizers packed me up on the 10th. Movers hauled my belongings to my new home at Lantern Hill...
Keeping the Pilot Light On
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2026 January was a busy month, but not one that photographs well. Which is ironic, because I do have photos (and screenshots)—though mostly of exposed wires, threats of legal action for copyright infringement, and a hat...
Still Coloring on the Walls
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2026 At 77 (and a half), I decided to learn iMovie. Some of you know me as a textile artist. Others, as a coach. What you may not know is that I’ve been a creative all my life. I wanted to produce a video history...
When The Plan Changes
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 After a wonderful visit with my daughter in Pasadena last January 2024, I set my sights on returning for a month-long visit for January 2025. I even began planning what art project to bring along for my 4 weeks...
How I Knew It Was Time
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 As a fellow card-carrying member of AARP, I barely blinked when one friend moved from Greenwich, CT to Sarasota, FL. I was only mildly curious when another friend told me about her winter place in Arizona. But,...
How a Sister’s Comment Sparked a Decade of Jewelry Making
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 It all began with a single remark from my sister at a craft show. Meredith, my older sibling, once helped me work a fair back in those exhibiting days. My batik eggs drew large crowds, and as demand grew, I raised...
Confessions of a Reluctant Plant Whisperer
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 I heard about Kripalu—a yoga retreat center in the Berkshires—more than thirty years ago. I participated in my first “Rest and Renewal” weekend soon after. Back then, in the early 90’s, Kripalu had an...
From $2 Drawings to the Smithsonian: My 50+-Year Adventure in Art (and a Birthday Gift to You)
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 Over five decades as an artist, I’ve experienced my share of milestones, surprises and reinventions. What has remained constant is the joy of creating and the deep satisfaction when someone connects with a piece...
Look What I Did! (And Why You Should Say That, Too)
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 In June 2001, I mailed stamped invitations (pre-email) to a few dozen of my most creative friends and colleagues requesting them to join me for a dinner party at Bloodroot, a feminist vegetarian restaurant...
What Have I Done?
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 The jury's still out on AI, but after my latest experience, I might just make it Employee of the Month. In my March newsletter I confessed to my insecurity at being a beginner when I described the Hunter College...
From Baby Steps to Book Drafts to Tangled Threads: The Long, Messy, and Miraculous Journey of Creating from Scratch
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025(illustrated with pieces of my art process along the way) In March, my granddaughter Chloe became Bat Mitzvah – a time of recognition and celebration when a 13-year-old Jewish girl is welcomed into her...
Beginner Blues: Confessions of a Senior Newbie
Click here to listen. © Jane Pollak 2025 (illustrated with pieces of my art process along the way) I’ll say it. I hate being a beginner. Which is kinda silly, because anytime I try something new, which I love to do, I’m in that role. I don’t like failing....