Jacqueline Nalett

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I have been involved with art since the age of 12 with basic art classes and personal drawing, then I more seriously pursued painting, drawing and sculpture in college minoring in studio art at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Mount Holyoke is where I discovered dance and it took me over so my BA is in Dance. I currently teach jazz, modern and hiphop dance as well as creative movement at the University of Houston and Rice University. I also occasionally go out to schools as a dance/writing teaching artist for Young Audiences of Houston and Society for the Performing Arts. I also do choreography, occasionally perform and make beaded jewelry that I love to wear. I'm half-French, half-American, originally from the Washington D.C. area, but have been in Houston since I was 3, so I consider myself a Texan. I also have a teenage daughter who loves to cook and draw.

My main involvement with art over the years has been drawing. I love to sketch. Crosshatching and shading with pencil or pen are like mini-meditative periods of time when your mind can just wander. I'm still figuring out my strengths with painting. I prefer using oils and acrylics on canvas. I also love sculpture of any kind, but particulary clay. I gave printmaking a try but hated that there were so many steps before a final product was achieved. I prefer pen to paper, brush to canvas or finger to clay which have imediate effects and can be morphed and improvised with until the desired effect is achieved. I also very much enjoy making collages with found objects, pictures and words, and making beaded jewelry, earrings in partricular.With collages I find it very interesting to have a person as a starting point and by collecting images and words that speak to that person in some way, create a revealing portrait. With beaded jewelry I love finding interesting beads, mostly glass or ceramic and creating simple pieces that can be worn to show individuality.