References, Exhibits & Documentation: (click links where applicable)
Book: “Expanding Circles – Women, Art & Community”
Author: Betty Ann Brown
Copyright: 1995
Nancy Jones is mentioned on pages: 19, 149, 183, 250, 252
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Book: “Yesterday and Tomorrow: California Women Artists”
Author: Sylvia Moore (edited by)
Copyright: 1989
Nancy Jones is mentioned on pages: 121, 127, 128, 130, 138, 140
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Book: “The Heroine's Journey” - Woman's Quest for Wholeness
Author: Maureen Murdock
Copyright: 1989
Nancy Ann Jones "Challenging Myth III" painting (aka "Eve") shown on: page 47, and text on page 144
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Book and Art Installation: "The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago - Nancy contributed to this famous art piece named “The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago. Her picture is shown in the Acknowledgement Panels at the Brooklyn Museum. Butterflies on Emily Dickenson’s place setting, daughter Leslie also helped with some of this….
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Book and Exhibition: "The Feminine in Cambodian Art" - An exhibition and publication on the arts of Cambodian women in the Los Angeles area. Exhibit Dec. 1, 1987 - Jan. 6, 1988
OPEN THIS Link: http://thewomansbuilding.org/PDF/Apsara.pdf
1987, the Woman’s Building
1727 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(Nancy Ann Jones helped with various arrrangements for the exhibit.)​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Publication: CSPG - Center for the Study of Political Graphics - "Reclaiming the Power of Art to Educate and Inspire People to Action. Tree of Hope Stand Firm" – Created by Nancy Ann Jones; Susan Gitlin Emmer; Woman's Building - Circa 1988 - Link: https://www.collection-politicalgraphics.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=7599;type=101
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ID Number: 7731
Title: Tree of Hope Stand Firm
Arbol de la Esperanza Mantente Firma
Tree of Hope Stand Firm, from Celebrating Women series
Maker: Nancy Ann Jones; Susan Gitlin Emmer; Woman's Building
Technique: letterpress
Date Made: Circa 1988
Place Made: United States: California, Los Angeles
Measurements: 28 cm x 71 cm; 11 in x 28 in
Main Subject: Women
Materials: paper (fiber product)
Digitized: Y
Full Text:
Tree of hope stand firm arbol de la esperanza mantente firme Frida Kahlo 1907-1954 Artista Mexicana Visionaria
The Poster Project: Celebrating Women This poster is one in a series produced for buses and other public places. The project was made possible through the generous support of the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Atlantic Richfield Foundation, Standard Brands, & the Woman's Building. The posters were produced by letterpress on a Vandercook 219P using the Woman's Building graphic studio. Two hundred copies were printed for public display, along with the signed limited edition on Arches cover paper. The poster project was directed by Cheri Gaulke, CAC artist-in-residence at the Woman's Building working with collaborating artists: Vilma Mendillo, Carol Beverage, Sandra Golvin, Jennifer Lockwood, Jesse Stumpp, Connie Macias, Laura Stickney, Harriet Sherry Smith; technical advice by Bonnie Thompson Norman. This bus poster was designed by Susan Gitlin Emmer and Nancy Ann Jones. For information contact the Woman's Building, Los Angeles (213) 221-6161
Acquisition Number: 1991-053 Copyright Status: Copyright status unknown; may be protected by copyright law.
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Publication: CSPG - Center for the Study of Political Graphics - " My Sole Concern Was to Get Home After a Hard Day's Work "
Rosa Parks -
Link: https://www.collection-politicalgraphics.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=17143;type=101
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ID Number: 16621
Title: My Sole Concern Was to Get Home After a Hard Day's Work
Maker: Woman's Building (printer), Cheri Gaulke (creator), Woman's Building (graphics collective)
Technique printed letterpress
Date ca. 1988
Place Made North America: United States; California, Los Angeles
Dimensions 11 x 28 in.; 28 x 71 cm
Main Subject: Women; Civil Rights Movement; African Americans
Category political posters
Materials cardboard
Full Text: My Sole Concern Was To Get Home After A Hard Day's Work. On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. From her act of defiance grew the Civil Rights Movement. "Lo unico que yo queria era llegar a casa despues de un arduo dia de trabajo." El dia primero de Diciembre de 1955, en Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks se nego a cederle el assiento a un hombre blanco. Con este acto de desafio nacio el Movimento a favor de los Derechos Civiles. The Poster Project: Celebrating Women This poster is one in a series produced for buses and other public places. The project was made possible through the generous support of the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Atlantic Richfield Foundation, and the Woman's Building. The posters were produced by letterpress on a Vandercook 219P using the Woman's Building graphic studio. Two hundred copies were printed for public display, along with a signed imited edition on Arches cover paper. The Poster Project was directed by Cheri Gaulke, CAC artist-in-residence at the Woman's Building working with collaberating artists: Susan Gitlin Emmer, Sandra Golvin, Nancy Ann Jones, Vilma Mendillo, Marge Oderberg, Harriet Sherry Smith, Julie Santoro and Laura Stickney; with technical advice by Bonnie Thompson Norman; Spanish translation by J. Michael Walker. For information contact The Woman's Building, Los Angeles (213) 221-6161
Lot Number: 1991-053 - ​Copyright Status: Copyright status unknown; the copyright status of this item has not been evaluated by CSPG.
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Artist Groups: Woman's Building "Celebrating Women" Series - Cardstock, circa 1990
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:%2F13030%2Fc8959k7m_al_0ca50c06a67b34ccdc74d4ed9d37ef2c03cbefc2
Michael Walker, Marge Oderberg, Susan Gitlin Emmer, Nancy Ann Jones, Jessica Stumpp, Vilma Mendillo, Julia Santoro, Laura Stickney; references or specifically about bus posters, Earth, sand, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, crescent moon, skeletons, roses, trees, Junior Olympics, speed racing, stunt women, Montgomery Bus Boycottt; referenced individuals include Sadako Sasaki, Rachel Carson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Frida Kahlo, Kitty O'Neil, Rosa Parks; places made include Los Angeles (California, USA); languages include English, Japanese, Spanish
Collection of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, 1900- ; bulk 1960- ​
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:%2F13030%2Fc8959k7m_al_0ca50c06a67b34ccdc74d4ed9d37ef2c03cbefc2
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Publication: "Viva la Vida!" An homage to Frida Kahlo - Nancy Ann Jones Curator - Los Angeles: The Woman's Building - 1987 - Pamphlet - Four panel brochure - Exhibition of artwprl oms[ored bu Laj;p/ Link: https://www.getty.edu/research/collections/component/1126M1
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Smithsonian's Archives of American Art holds extensive records on the Woman’s Building (1970–1992), including Nancy’s involvement in gallery programs, Women’s Graphic Center projects, correspondence, slides, and artist books awarewomenartists.com+7si.edu+7en.wikipedia.org+7.
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Many exhibition catalogs, slide archives, and printed materials from that era—including her participation—were digitized in 2019 and are accessible through the Smithsonian .
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Newspaper Article APRIL 22, 1991, 12 AM PT: "Artists’ Varied Visions of Our Legacy to Earth" - BY SHAUNA SNOW - Times Staff Writer - link: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-22-ca-366-story.html#:~:text=By%20SHAUNA%20SNOW,died%20of%20cancer%20last%20year
The article reviews the group exhibition "Environmental Legacies: Countdown to the Millennium," which opened at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, California, coinciding with Earth Day.
Key Details from the Article:
"The show was curated by artist and art writer Nancy Ann Jones through the activist group Artists Contributing to the Solution (ACTS) and focuses on what today’s children will inherit in terms of global environmental problems."
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​AWARDS, GRANTS, AND COMMISSIONS
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Resume from 1986:
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Nancy worked with many well known artists, as well as feminist and spiritual leaders
in the L.A. area. Below are just a few of those people she cherished: ​
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Cheri Gaulke
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Sue Maberry
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Anne Gauldin
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Betty Ann Brown
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Maureen Murdock
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Starr Goode
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Judy DeRosa
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Xia Judy Tatum
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Jeanne Leiter Clark / Pythia
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Ruth Ann Anderson
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Robin Dudley-Howes
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Joanne Young Elliott
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Judy Chicago
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Jill D’Agnenica
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Christine Papalexis
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Kathleen Forrest
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Carolyn Potter
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the Woman's Building - Timeline 1988-1991
​OPEN THIS Link: https://thewomansbuilding.org/timeline6.html
ORGANIZATION MILESTONES - WGC Typesetting and Design closes - Woman’s Building celebrates 15th anniversary, publishes Fifteen Years and Growing, and produces Sweet 15 video; Eighteen artists create original art “birthday cakes” to be exhibited and auctioned at the Woman’s Building
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​EXHIBITIONS:
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​“Spirit Guides,” (Ruth Ann Anderson, Susan Aurand, Suzanne Benmton, Renée Brown, Shan Goshorn, Nancy Ann Jones, Patty Sue Jones, Diane Katsiaficas, Deborah Lawrence, Nancy Mozur, Maria Elena Orona, Anna Pomaska, Cynda Valle, Katherine Wells) (7/15)
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EXTENSION PROGRAM:
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​Gokko Printing Workshop, Nancy Ann Jones (8/27)
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EXTENSION CLASSES:
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Liberating Images, Nancy Ann Jones (2/3)
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Herstory, Nancy Ann Jones (3/31)
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​Nancy Jones Obituary
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December 13, 1936 - January 12, 2024 - Published by Los Angeles Times on Mar. 3, 2024.
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Nancy Ann Jones passed away on January 12, 2024, at the age of 87.
Born in Pasadena, Nancy grew up in Altadena where she completed high school and later married Fenton, her high school sweetheart. They had five children, four daughters and a son. Nancy was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a loyal friend.
She was very involved in her children's schooling and was awarded the National PTA Life Achievement Award for her development and management of their "Mini-Art-courses". She leaves behind fabulous memories for those lucky enough to share in the richness and creativity of her life.
Nancy went back to school at the age of thirty-five. She received her Associate in Arts degree and won the Brasserie Scholarship at Pasadena City College. She transferred to California State University, Northridge where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and Anthropology - Suma Cum Laude.
She became a talented artist who worked in many mediums. Nancy explored and produced drawings, paintings, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, weaving, writing, crochet, needlepoint and bookmaking. Her work was shown in many galleries over the years. She played the guitar and sang with an amazing voice.
Nancy worked in the art world making art pieces for other well-known artists. She became involved with The Women's Building, a home for feminist art and artists, where she became the Program Director and organized classes, programs, and special events. She was an active feminist.
Nancy also studied many diverse religions and spiritual paths, from both the past and the present. She grew to respect the different beliefs, teachings, and practices.
Nancy's memory will stay alive through family, her friends, and her loving husband who supported her through a lifetime of raising children, creating art, philosophical exploration, and during her valiant battle with Alzheimer's disease. Nancy and Fenton had just celebrated their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary.
A Celebration of Life for Nancy was held on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Throop Unitarian Universalist Church, 300 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101.
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Published by Los Angeles Times on Mar. 3, 2024.
​Link: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/nancy-jones-obituary?id=54525122
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​Temple of the Goddess: The Hagia Sophia Lifetime Achievement Award and The Wisdom Legacy Library - Link to Award posting: http://www.templeofthegoddess.org/hagiasophia-nancyannjones1.htm​
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Article written by: Joanne Elliott
All photos by: Robin Dudley-Howes
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Nancy Ann Jones
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Nancy Ann Jones, a woman who lives life and teaches by her living, is the first recipient of the Hagia Sophia Lifetime Achievement Award. Elders like her in the Pagan community inspired Temple of the Goddess to create this new honor. Nancy Ann, 74, is a wife, mother, artist, sacred pipe carrier, and Wiccan Priestess. Early on, she took ordination as minister in the Universal Life Church so she could marry, bury, and bless babies. Her journey continues even as the Pagan community acknowledges a life well lived.
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Born in Pasadena, Nancy Ann Jones mostly grew up not far away in Altadena, where she completed high school and later married Fenton, her high school sweetheart, to whom she is still married. The Joneses have five children, four daughters and a son. Despite having tough childhoods themselves, Nancy Ann says she and her husband managed to raise five well-adjusted, self-motivated adults. All four daughters are very spiritual, she says. They all chose paths different from her own, but all find great peace in the paths they walk.
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Today Nancy Ann is an artist who works in many mediums. She paints, draws, and once used to sculpt and do ceramics. But she didn't always have an interest in art. As a child, she confesses, she was very bright, but difficult. She says she was one of those kids who didn't understand boundaries.
"I was always pissing off grown-ups. They didn't know what to do with me. I was always asking questions that were none of my business." Now she sees that even then she made somee of her own difficulties. "I always chose the hard way." An integral part of her spiritual path is learning to see her part in the difficulties with others and with her life in general. When she had her own children she told them she would never lie, so be careful what you ask. She felt a need to do this because as a child she lied a lot. She felt she was always going to get in trouble so she always had a lie ready. Today integrity is the most important part of her path. She says being responsible for and present in your life is a major part of living.
One of many altars built in a sacred lifetime.
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Art became an interest in graduate school at Cal State Northridge. There she got interested in art history especially ancient Pagan art and began to take some classes in Anthropology. But college was something she did later in life. She went back to school when her youngest child was eight. She did her undergraduate work at Pasadena City College. Her family was important to her and so was education. She was very involved in her children's schools and was awarded the National PTA Life Achievement Award. The PTA calls it "the highest honor from the nation's largest child advocacy organization to the person who daily lives out his or her commitment to children." Nancy Ann sent the certificate back because it had "Mrs. Jones" on it. She felt that could be anyone, her mother-in-law, or a second wife of her husband. They told her they wouldn't change it, that this was just the way they always did things.
Nancy Ann did work in the art world for a while. There were two jobs that stood out. One was as an art fabricator and the other was overseeing a project for Isamu Noguchi, the prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect. Eventually she stopped working to focus on her family.
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Then she got involved with The Woman's Building in Los Angeles, a home for feminist art and artists. She later became the Program Director there and organized classes, programs, and special events "with thoughtfulness and attention," according to Ruth Ann Anderson, an artist she met at The Woman's Building who also became a lifelong friend and travel partner. They spent time in England exploring the physical and spiritual landscape of that ancient land.
Before her travels to England, Nancy Ann became involved with a Native American group. She welcomed the difficult and transformative experiences that were a part of their spiritual path. As she said before, she always chooses the hard way.
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The Native American path provided many transformative experiences. She spent a night by herself on a mountain top and was amazed by the way the sky spiraled through the night. She also spent a night in her own grave, hours in a blistering sweat lodge, three days at a sun dance, and went on numerous vision quests. "These experiences push you to your limit." She feels you need to "throw your shadow to your feet, be present and accountable." She recommends this path if you want to transform your life.
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Nancy Ann says she can't believe now that she used to just pack her backpack and go off to England. "I couldn't have done it without the transformation, the tough work I did to find out who I was." As an ordained Wiccan Priestess, she brings her past experiences to bear on this path."
When I design ritual I keep transformation in mind. All these practices work on the subconscious. Ceremony is about getting to that receptive place to receive knowledge." This can be knowledge of higher things or simply the truth about a situation in your life. She continues to create a space for ceremony by creating an altar on the Day of the Dead at the Folk Tree in Pasadena. Using her art and her knowledge she helps people to connect with loved ones who have crossed over.
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All she went through helped her cope with life. Today she is dealing with health issues and says she is kind of a hermit, but that everything she needs is right there. Her family supports her and she enjoys bartering with her daughters for art. Not always up to going into her studio, she continues to create her art using whatever is available. For a while now she has been making folded art books out of recycled paper. She is very concerned for the Earth and does what she can to help by reusing and recycling. And as always she finds a way to make art. She says paper with foreign languages or legal speak written on them become art. Those things that are undecipherable to her become just visual images, a part of the design of her books.
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Words are also important to her in their decipherable form. She is a Sun Dance Singer and loves to sing the chants as she drives through the mountains with the windows down. She not only sings, but has written journals for years and also has done something called "evidence journaling" where you collect physical things from your experiences. She feels these journals are part of the legacy she leaves for those who come after her.
Though she feels the need to get back to her studio to continue to create her art, she is also preparing for when she is no longer on the physical plane. Perhaps nearly seventeen years of creating altars for the Day of the Dead has kept this ultimate transformation in mind. She has begun to take stock of her things and figure out where they will go when she is gone. This fits in with her strong conviction that we must take responsibility for our lives; this means all the way to the end. Temple of the Goddess' Wisdom Legacy Library will allow Nancy Ann's work to be available to the community. "I'm very honored and thankful that my ceremonial writings will belong to the group," she says. Some artwork that she feels will be useful to the community will also become a part of the collection.
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Nancy Ann says she has no regrets about giving her time and energy to her family, her art, the Pagan community, and the community at large. "I've had the most extraordinary adult life."
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Article written by: Joanne Elliott
All photos by: Robin Dudley-Howes
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