once the design concept is in place, jan's fiber pieces are built on richly colored cotton fabric that she hand-dyes with Procion dyes.   some of the techniques used are table dyeing, hang dyeing, tub dyeing, scrunch dyeing and fold dyeing. after the newly dyed cotton dries, it is washed and then rinsed numerous times until the water runs clear.   after being dried, the fabric is steam pressed. during this step jan "bonds" with each piece of cotton, memorizing the details of the colors, textures and patterns and cataloging them for future reference.   later, acrylic paint is sometimes added to the surface of the fabric to add dimension and depth.

the main shapes of each design are cut out individually by hand.   they are then applied to the background with a fused appliqué technique.

the bold colors that make up the pieces of these horses' faces shown here are individually appliqued.   much like a puzzle, each piece is individually applied to the background to form the final design.

more color and texture are layered onto each piece using a technique known as "thread painting."   jan adds countless stitches to the surface of the cotton using a sewing machine, blending the thread and fabric colors until the combined effect of the stitches and hand-dyed cotton is that of paint on canvas.   this is a free-motion machine stitching technique in which there is no pressure placed on the fabric during stitching, which allows the piece to be moved freely in any direction to achieve the desired texture and detail.

in many of the larger pieces jan has completed since 1997 there is a small image such as a bird, lizard, wolf or horse hidden somewhere in the work.   this image not only authenticates the work as hers but also may represent a dream or thought that echoes through the theme of the work.   in her equine pieces, for instance, each hidden image is a small horse (as pictured here in the piece entitled "stormy").