to my website and my world of color and light.

For as long as I can remember I have loved drawing, coloring, painting - anything to do with art. My education and working career were in science and medical technology, nothing to do with art. It was not until I was a young wife and mother that I felt a great need for creative expression and had the time to sign up for oil painting classes, which awakened my dormant passion for art that has only grown stronger with years.

Along with my art classes I also took lessons in Early American Decoration that really captivated my imagination because it was such a uniquely American folk art. Sine I was born and spent my early childhood in the beautiful Alps of Slovenia and Austria, where folk art and folk lore are intricately woven into every facet of life, it was only natural for me to develop a special love for the folk art of my adopted home. I was especially intrigued by country painting on tin and studied the methods the old tinsmiths used in preparing their tinware and the colorful stroke designs they used to decorate it.

In 1966 I started teaching Early American Decoration to a small group of friends from my Garden Club. When my daughter was born in 1968 I put painting on hold till 1976 when I started teaching decorative painting in a small shop in Lynchburg, VA. That was also the time I discovered and joined the Society of Decorative Painters, then known as NSTDP.

The Society has provided a wonderful national and international network as well as fabulous opportunities for painters all over the world. Whole new industries have grown up to supply the needs of painters like myself who had worked in relative isolation before the Society.

When I met master tinsmith Robert Faulkner and his wife Eileen of Picton, Ontario, Canada, now both deceased, it was a meeting of kindred spirits. Robert made some of the finest reproductions of antique tinware; his pieces were works of art before any decorative painter ever touched them. I was fortunate to have his tinware to design and paint on, which eventually led to the publication of my first book OUR COUNTRY HERITAGE, followed by three more volumes.

Over the past 35 years I have been a student, and a teacher, I have had the good fortune of making wonderful and lasting friendships and of visiting many fascinating places. I loved the inspiration I received from my students and the excitement and energy that always flowed in the classroom.

In 1998 a ruptured disc and degenerative bone decease forced me to retire from travel teaching. When I recovered and started painting again I quickly got accustomed to painting for the sheer joy of it without the pressure of deadlines and the stress of travel.

That's where I am today. I enjoy being a student again, taking workshops, exploring new directions in watercolor, oils and pastels.

A desire to paint my grandchildren led to my study of portraiture. Now, whenever I can I meet with a group of local artists who get together once a week to paint. I love the challenge of capturing the likeness and character of a model, or standing in awe at the beauty of God's creation when painting a landscape en plein air.

BIOGRAPHY

Helen Jeglic has studied and taught decorative painting for over 30 years, including classes at regional and national conventions as well as seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.

In 1984 Helen achieved the Master Decorative Artist Certification, awarded by the Society of Decorative Painters. In 1997 she was awarded the "Silver Palette" for her contribution to the field of decorative art.

She has served as judge for the Certification Program, on various committees and on the Board of Directors of the Society of Decorative Painters, the Board of Trustees of the DAC Museum and on the Board of Editors of Video Quarterly.

Helen is the author of four instructional books, numerous design packets and magazine articles.

Helen is a member of:

• Akron Society of Artists
  
• Cuyahoga Valley Art Center
  
• Hudson Society of Artists
  
• Portrait Society of America
  
• Society of Decorative Painters
  
• Tole Painters of the Western Reserve
  
  

Projects from OUR COUNTRY HERITAGE are available as e-packets on this site,
new e-packets are added constantly..