Janel Jacobson (Harris, Minnesota) is a wood carver whose exquisite works are collected and exhibited by many of the major museums in the country, including the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery and New York’s Museum of Art and Design. During more than ten years as a potter, she began carving in stoneware and porcelain clay. Her work eventually evolved into carving very small porcelain sculptures and then to carving hardwoods. Today her works have grown in scale and scope from small netsuke (functional, miniature sculptures used to suspend a pouch or small container from kimono sashes) and ojime (sliding beads on cords that hold the pouch or containers closed) to stand-alone small sculptures. She has received top awards in many of the premier craft shows in the country, including those of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Smithsonian.