Connecting People with Art

By Lucy Arnold, Art Editor

Jane B. Howard, professor emerita of arts and humanities at Indian River State College, has worn many hats. They include wife, mother, art educator, art consultant, interior design instructor, show juror, graphic artist, history telecourse presenter, art exhibitor, academic tour guide, travel consultant, writer, musician, lecturer, and, finally, photographer. Photography became her medium of choice for creative work.

Howard taught classes at Clemente College and St. Francis University and was head of the Visual Arts Department while teaching full-time at Indian River State College. She was also in charge of academic travel, which took her around the world on her many learning experiences.

“Clicking a photo was the most expedient thing for me to do,” she explained.

“Sakura Comes to Japan” (published on the cover of the Spring 2022 edition of The Pen Woman) was inspired by the beautiful cherry blossom time in Japan.

Howard has won many accolades and held many Florida state educational positions during her long career, including a lifelong membership in the Florida Association of Colleges. She is currently president of the Vero Beach Branch of Pen Women and co-chair of the AAUW Book Review Breakfasts. She has served on the Vero Beach Museum of Art board, the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee, Lifelong Learning programs, plus church scholarship and mission committees.

“I see myself as a connector of people. My lifelong goal has been to try to bring an appreciation and knowledge of all the arts to my many students and friends,” she says.

Howard continues to evolve, citing a long list of college work from Murray State University, St. Francis University, Norton Gallery of Art, Florida State University, Florida Atlantic University, and the College of Santa Fe. Her personal motto is “experience by design.”