Jane Rosen

Rosen has taught art at a number of institutions, including the School of Visual Arts in New York (1978–1989); Maryland Institute College of Art (1985); University of California, Davis (1990–1992); Stanford University (1993); Bard College (1995–1996); LaCoste School of the Arts (1998); and the University of California, Berkeley (1994–1995, 1996–2005). She takes her role as an instructor and mentor very seriously. Many of her students have gone on to become successful artists in their own regard. At the heart of Rosen's teaching is the idea of connecting the tactile with the visual. She calls her method "Seeing through Touch." It stems in part from the work of her drawing teacher, Robert Beverly Hale, who wrote "Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters." Rosen's technique incorporates elements of Renaissance drawing and Asian calligraphy and engages what is sensed by the body with what is seen by the eye. Rosen believes that when you connect the sensation of touch to your line of sight, it activates a feeling of wonder and discovery as you draw. Her drawing method encourages direct observation of nature and the translation of sensory responses into lines.

Between 1980 and 1983, Rosen received grants in sculpture from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Artists Public Service Program (CAPS). Then, in 1988 she traveled to Portugal through a Luso-American Foundation grant, where she began carving stone. Her art making and materials further expanded to include glass after being awarded artist residencies in 1999 and 2008 at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington. Rosen is also the recipient of the 2015 Arts and Letters Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.