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 Jana Roberts Benzon
My 'life's calling' was fairly evident from early clues.....as a kindergartner, I vividly remember the thrill in my solar plexus as I glanced at the color combination my table mate had used in her crayon drawing. Even at 5 years old, I was consciously aware of the depth of joy brought on simply by gazing upon beautiful colors. At this same time, my hands began working as I swiped soap from the bathroom cabinet to carve into 'sculptures', or surrounded by scraps of leather, bits of wood, nails and hammer, creating all manner of items including shoes (!) and furniture for my sister's doll houses. I spent countless hours making paper dolls, and remember my awe in realizing that I could create any type of doll or clothing my mind could concieve. I have since learned that my desire for mediums which allow for this 'limitless creative potential' is what drew me so completely into polymer clay.
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Bead Set, Second Place winner in the Bead Category, Progress and Possibilities 2007 (National Polymer Clay Guild)
 
I grew up with a mother who was an extremely talented and accomplished portrait artist and who surrounded her life and home with color, texture and beautiful designs — she was pure creativity. Through her, I inherited an intrinsic love of color and detail. She taught me to sew at the age of ten, and the endless possibilities for creating with beautiful textiles seemed like magic to me. I have always been drawn to the beauty of East Indian,  ethnic and intricately patterned textiles and enjoy the challenge of reproducing these designs in a low fire clay (See a description of low fire clay below). Throughout my life, I have worked with various clays and with many other mediums, from paint and textiles, to interior design florals and beadwork, including beaded handbags and scarves. When I finally discovered the varied and endless abilities of Polymer Clay, I was swept away by it. My passion for color and detail is able to be fully realized through the  medium of Polymer Clay and I am constantly amazed by the possibilities it offers. While I use many different techniques with Polymer Clay, I continue to be fascinated by Millefiori, or Caning (see a description of Millefiori below). I strive to achieve supreme craftsmanship in each new cane I create, which are always one of a kind.... and then with those canes, to create "unique, complex, detailed, original and very artistic mini masterpieces" (my best friends description!).
In addition to creating pieces to sell, I love teaching Polymer Clay workshops and classes. My teaching history over the last 25 years has been varied. This history includes teaching craft workshops in (among other things) polymer clay, floral design, painting and beadwork. Additionally, I have taught women’s group classes in cooking, exercise and life-skills, Michael’s Crafts classes in polymer clay, youth groups in crafting and life skills, and in the Public School System grades K-12 as a Substitute Teacher.
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 A native of Seattle Washington, I now live in Salt Lake City, Utah....the “oh so close” majestic mountains are a big-people playground and nature lover's wonderland! My husband and I have one fine and creative son still living at home and attending college full time, and two older, just-as-fine sons who have clipped the apron strings and are off and running with their independent, exciting lives! When I’m not creating, I love to read and garden and to hike the beautiful Wasatch Mountains daily with my beloved pooch E-one (short for Enlightened One). We also share our old refurbished Tudor home and gardens with other furry and winged critters, not to mention the various and sundry two legged variety..."kids" who need a place to stay and know they have a warm bed (or couch!) at our home. Our home is filled with music, books and laughter, and we often have musicians from across the country come and perform "House Concerts" at our home. It's a good life, and I am very fortunate.
My art is dedicated to my Mother
Arabesque Canes.
 The term 'Arabesque' is described as "an ornament or surface decoration with intricate curves, interlacing and flowing lines or geometrical decoration". This term seems to aptly fit these Millefiori canes which have become my signature as well as my passion! Keep in mind that all of the designs are created purely from the colored clay...no paints or pigments are used.
Millefiori means "thousand flowers" in Italian. It originated as the use of canes or rods (in the shape of a drinking straw) of colored glass being arranged in a bundle. When the bundle of glass is viewed from each end, the pattern of a flower or other decorative image is seen. After the glass is fused, slices are taken off of the cane and used as decoration. Millefiori has decorated objects from the time of ancient Mesopotamia to the present day, and now the technique of Millefiori has been adapted to Polymer Clay. These Arabesque Canes start out very large, usually weighing five to seven pounds. I "build" the canes using many shapes and designs and also very  precise techniques to form it's finished pattern. It is then reduced (made smaller) by manipulating and stretching the cane to a diameter of approximately one inch. Care and expertise are required to ensure that the canes' design does not become distorted during the (somewhat violent!!) reduction process. After reduction, slices are taken off of the cane and used, along with many other techniques, to create pieces of wearable art, examples of which are shown in the Galleries on this website
Artists and pioneers have long been paving the way for newer artists such as myself within the polymer clay community. I could not have evolved into my own style and techniques in millefiori canework without their work and efforts, and I have always applauded them, and want to thank them here, publicly, for opening up an amazing and very gratifying world to me. I stand in awe of the incredible work that polymer artists create,  and urge you to explore their works on the internet and in books and other publications...you'll be amazed!
Low Fire Polymer Clay is not an earthen clay, but a man (or woman!)-made clay, which hardens when fired. It is available in many colors, but I prefer using more basic, primary colors, then blending and mixing to achieve the desired shades.
Millefiori (mill-eh-fee-or-ee) means "thousand flowers" in Italian. It originated as the use of "canes" (in the shape of a drinking straw) of colored glass being arranged in a bundle. When the bundle of glass is viewed from each end, the pattern of a flower or other decorative image is seen. After the glass is fused, slices are taken off of the cane and used as decoration. Millefiori has decorated objects from the time of ancient Mesopotamia to the present day, and now the technique of Millefiori has been adapted to Polymer Clay. I use Millefiori and many other techniques to create pieces of wearable art.
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