Janet Mazenier - Contemporary visual artist
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In this deeply reflective episode of Creative Connections, host Mandy Jakich sits down with contemporary visual artist Janet Mazenier, a full-time artist based in Devonport, Auckland. Janet shares her transformative journey from a corporate career spanning nearly 30 years to becoming a dedicated artist after a pivotal moment in 2008. Her path includes formal education at Whitecliffe, Elam School of Fine Art, and a PhD in Creative Practice at AUT, all deeply informed by her exploration of place, heritage, and materiality. Central to her practice is the use of cold wax medium—beeswax mixed with oil paint—whose tactile, layered qualities mirror her conceptual interests in time, memory, and the unseen histories embedded in land. Janet’s work is profoundly shaped by two formative artist residencies in Ireland, particularly in the Burren, where she collaborated with an international collective on massive, site-responsive paintings. These experiences, coupled with her Irish heritage and a deep phenomenological engagement with place, have led to large-scale, immersive works like the 22-meter Ephemeral Song, which she will install in March 2026. Janet also discusses the emotional and intellectual challenges of the PhD journey, the importance of mentorship, and her commitment to teaching and mentoring artists through workshops and one-on-one guidance. Her story is one of resilience, curiosity, and the belief that art can be a healing, world-bending act of connection. The episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the rigorous, often solitary, yet deeply collaborative process of creating art at an advanced level. Janet’s insights into the role of materiality, time, and light in her practice, as well as her advocacy for accessible creative education, resonate beyond the art world. She emphasizes that art is not just about aesthetics but about embodiment, ecology, and the human need to feel connected to place and history. Her journey—from a Sunday painter to a PhD candidate with international exhibitions—serves as a powerful testament to the value of lifelong learning and the courage to reinvent oneself. The conversation culminates in a sense of quiet triumph: Janet has completed her thesis, is preparing for a major exhibition, and is now poised to share her wisdom more widely through teaching and collaboration.
Embrace the discomfort of learning: Janet’s shift from corporate life to full-time artistry was fueled by a hunger to think deeply, not just create. Formal education gave her the tools to question her practice and develop a conceptual foundation.
Materiality speaks to meaning: Her use of cold wax medium is not just technical—it’s philosophical. The medium’s ability to layer, excavate, and preserve history mirrors her themes of memory, time, and place.
Collaboration as a catalyst: The Burren residency and the Mehul collective transformed her practice. Working with others on large-scale, site-responsive works taught her that art can be a communal, healing act.
Place is a living archive: Janet’s work is deeply rooted in the land—both in Ireland and Aotearoa. She sees the earth as a repository of stories, trauma, and beauty, and her paintings are a way of listening to and expressing that.
Art as an antidote: In a digital, screen-dominated world, Janet’s tactile, slow, process-driven practice is a radical act of presence and humanity, reconnecting us to our bodies and our environment.
Introduction to Janet Mazenier and Her Artistic Journey
Host Mandy Jakich introduces Janet Mazenier, a contemporary visual artist from Devonport, Auckland, whose practice explores place, time, and materiality through textured, cold wax paintings. Janet shares her background, including her Irish heritage and early artistic inclinations.
From Corporate Life to Full-Time Artistry
Janet recounts her pivotal shift from a corporate career in program management to pursuing art full-time after a transformative painting workshop in 2008. She describes the emotional and psychological toll of leaving her old life behind.
The Role of Education and Academic Rigor
Janet discusses her journey through a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master’s at Elam, and her PhD in Creative Practice. She emphasizes how academic study forced her to develop critical thinking and conceptual depth, especially through mentorship and rigorous writing.
The Power of Cold Wax Medium
“It acts as a carrier for other media, for dry pigments. It actually speaks to these earthy processes of layering, of volcanics, of tectonics, of movement, of the things that actually make up the world in which we live that we actually often don't see unless we're really consciously looking for.”
Residencies in Ireland: A Spiritual and Creative Awakening
“I fell in love with that place and I felt like I'd found my place in Ireland. And while I was there, because of the size of the studio space and because the college was so well resourced, I was able to make three metre wide paintings on unstretched canvas and really push the medium that I was working with.”
“The next morning we went in and our work had been shifted. So Sulfur had been shifted, and Sulfur had that volcanic core to her. And the curator Carl had actually hung the work over the window, and all of a sudden this work just lit up and it glowed from beneath.”
“I fell in love with that place and I felt like I'd found my place in Ireland. And while I was there, because of the size of the studio space and because the college was so well resourced, I was able to make three metre wide paintings on unstretched canvas and really push the medium that I was working with.”
“I wanted it to be continuous. I didn't want to do it in sections. I had seen Monet's work in the Tuileries which was done in sections. And my work is not like Monet's, believe me, but when you sit there and you have this sense of the peripheral vision of the work in its circular fashion, that's the experience I want people to have with my work.”
Host
Guest
Janet Mazenier
person
Mandy Jakich
person
Ireland
place
Cold Wax Medium
other
Auckland
place
Devonport
place
AUT
organization
Burren College of Art
organization
John
person
Whitecliffe
organization
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