Janice A. Yager

Jan Yager, born in Detroit, MI and longtime resident of Philadelphia, PA, passed away on August 14, 2024 at the age of 72, after a 12 year battle with metastatic breast cancer. Jan was predeceased by her husband Rick Shnitzler, and her parents Mary Linda (Parrish) Yager and Casper Yager Jr. She is survived by her daughter Julia Yager (Michael Aboff). She is also survived by her sister Karen (Yager) Galvin (Timothy Galvin Sr.) and her brother Robert Yager. "One day when I was 10 my next door neighbor Anna, who was an artist, called me to the fence to see what I was drawing. She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. Without hesitation I replied "I want to be an artist". With discernable emotion she pointed at me and said "You better be really sure, because once you start you will never be able to quit." About a decade later in my college dorm room her words came back to me and I finally understood what she meant." -- Jan Yager Jan received a BFA in jewelry and metalsmithing from Western Michigan University in 1974 and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1981. She moved to Philadelphia in 1983 and established a studio, which she held for 35 years, at the oldest and largest artist building in Philadelphia, 915 Spring Garden Street. Over the span of her career she had many notable achievements including being featured in Craft in America on PBS, and receiving grants from foundations such as the PEW Fellowship in the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Anonymous was a Woman Foundation, and the Rhode Island State Arts Council. In the early 1990's, she took a two-year self-funded sabbatical to research the history and philosophy of jewelry and jewelry making - which she felt was often overlooked by artists in the fine arts. Her goal became the creation of work that was "rooted in history, yet undeniably of its place and time." This led her to pivot away from the production jewelry that supported her early success and into developing the City Flora/City Flotsam series based on plants and discarded items found on the sidewalks near her studio. At the conclusion of a lecture she gave in St. Louis, MO she was offered a solo show at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, UK in 2001: Jan Yager: City Flora/City Flotsam. Her Invasive Species: American Tiara made for the solo show was also exhibited in a 2002 V&A show: Tiaras. Today her jewelry can be found in the permanent collections of institutions including: The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, USA Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC, USA Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York, USA There are no plans for a formal gathering. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Jan's name to support Craft in America at https://www.craftinamerica.org/.

Janice A. Yager

October 9, 1951 - August 14, 2024

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Janice A. Yager

October 9, 1951 - August 14, 2024

About Us

What We Do

Grief & Healing

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Plan Ahead

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