Sue Jines & her Special Productions will shine at Art Walk Nov. 14
From our weekly issue dated November 5, 2008
In celebration of the “Hearth and Home” theme, the Featured Artist for Second Friday Art Walk in Downtown Cave Junction on Nov. 14 is Sue Jines, owner of Special Productions in Cave Junction.
Jines was introduced to ceramics at a young age when her mother was in a basic course on china painting and took her along. More than 50 years later, Jines owns 200 molds and three kilns, and has taught classes on every aspect of this fascinating craft.
Each piece begins with casting, a process involving pouring liquid clay or “slip” into a mold. Once dried, the piece may be fired three or four times at differing temperatures. The first firing creates “bisque ware,” and then, depending on the desired outcome, added firings fix the glaze, gold or silver trim and finally, decals.
Her husband, Virgil, owns Jines Construction, a Josephine County business for 40 years. He has built or remodeled more than 500 homes, as well as many light commercial projects. Four years ago, Virgil was chosen to remodel the SOFCU Community Credit Union building in Cave Junction. The banking operation was moved from one end of the structure to the other, and a retail space was created. Sue jumped at the chance to move Special Productions into this highway frontage location.
“I’m a progressive person,” she states. “I love progress on anything. When the boom started in Cave Junction I got so excited, I wanted to be part of it.”
Her shop features just a few of the hundreds of lampshades she’s fashioned during the past 18 years.
Textiles include cotton, corduroy, polyester, suede cloth, velveteen and decorator and upholstery fabrics: “Everything but silk, which rots; and rayon, which gets baggy when stretched,” she explains.
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The business began as a hobby when Virgil found a painted-white brass floor lamp at a dump. He stripped and polished the metal, and bought a glass bowl torchiere to replace the missing piece.
Dubbed “The Thing,” the lamp seemed to need a bit more sprucing up. Sue bought a book and materials to create 12-inch fringe, and a friend almost immediately bought “The Thing.” Encouraged, the Jines began to assemble more lamps -- and Special Productions was born.
Sue’s lampshade business has become so successful that she no longer has time to teach. She displays only a portion of her stock in the store and averages more than 100 custom orders a year.
“Anything that can be mounted on a base can be turned into a lamp,” she says with a smile. Virgil helps by constructing and wiring the lamps. He also cuts and polishes the granite bases used for the floor models.
Besides unique lamps, Special Productions carries figurines of cowboys and horses, elk, moose, bear, deer, elephants, frogs and dolphins; gifts for golfers and fisherman, clocks, gumball machines, wind chimes and vintage rhinestone jewelry.
Somehow, this active couple finds time to display their 1949 Chevy Sedan Delivery at three or four car shows each year, and have won many awards. This type of vintage van on a car frame delivered flowers or groceries.
Upbeat and energetic, Sue & Virgil Jines have no immediate plans to retire. “We’re having the time of our lives,” Sue says with a laugh.
Second Friday Art Walk is sponsored by Illinois River Valley Arts Council with support from Evergreen Federal Bank, Cabin Chemistry, Jefferson State Financial Group, and R.H. Ziller & Co. For more information, visit www.irvac.com or phone 592-4444 during regular business hours.
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