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Teacher Feature: Jane Terzis
By Rosa Fonseca
Whalesong Reporter
Jane Terzis,
who previously worked as an adjunct for the University of Alaska
and taught art to prisoners all over Alaska for over 20 years, has
accepted a job as the new professor in the Art department at UAS.
This fall she is teaching the upper division, intermediate and advanced,
senior drawing classes, and all levels of oil and acrylic painting.
In her cozy, dim-lighted office Jane Terzis told a little
about herself: “ I used to watch my grandmother paint, and
for me, the idea of making a picture was just magical,” Terzis
said. Since she was a child, she saw herself as an artist.
One of the many who fell in love with the beauty of
Juneau, Terzis came here because she wanted to live in a small community.
When she saw the glaciers for the first time she asked herself,
“How could I be anywhere else?” And added emphatically,
“This is it!” Interesting enough, she commented that,
as much as landscape inspires her, it is not what she usually paints,
unless she is commissioned or hired to do that.
Terzis has a long experience as an artist. She earned
her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from Ohio Wesleyan
University. Then she studied for three years to get her Masters
in Medical and Biological Illustration. As part of the program,
Terzis studied Physiology and Pathology, and took Human Anatomy
classes with students of medicine.
“The coolest part for me was to see textures and
colors inside of bodies and be able to study and reproduce in the
way it looks and how it works,” said Terzis. She explains that
medical illustrators use techniques that others illustrators don’t.
She had to be precise and accurate.
As part of the Humanities department, Terzis’ plans
are to continue to show that the university provides resources for
the community. She also wants students to know what is going on
with the art in town, throughout the state, and the world.
About drawing and painting, Terzis defines her role
as that of a mentor who provides the container for the discovery
of students. She said it takes a sense of trust, tools and guidance
to make it happen.
“In art you express something you can’t do
in any other way. It opens your mind beyond what you think is so.
What we believe is nailed down in our lives, is just a part of what
is there.” She said, “In class, the container is someone
who provides space and instruction of how to get from A to B; and
provides a sense of permission and courage.
“Very gently, with humor, we celebrate failure,”
said Terzis. “That means you are stretching and leaving the
house and doing something you didn’t think you could do. It’s
very simple, but simple does not mean easy.”
If Terzis could give a word of advice to students she
would say, “Just do it! It is that simple,” she continues,
“but there is an allowing that has to happen.”
Email Rosa fonseca at jsrmf4@uas.alaska.edu
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