I’m Cheryl Janis, a fiber and mixed media artist based in Missoula, Montana. I create luminous, tactile works—quiet portals of wool, silk, and light—designed to slow the breath and soften attention.
My current body of work, Sacred Windows, is a series of ethereal fiber “windows” built with ethical wool, peace silk (Eri; Tussah where noted), and recycled acrylic. Each piece is held within a slim acrylic enclosure so light, air, and shadow become part of the work. The window isn’t only something you look at—it’s something you feel yourself entering.
In this series, I’m exploring a visual vocabulary of breath, expansion, threshold, and belonging—forms that invite us back to ourselves through natural light, layered texture, and a quieter kind of attention. I’m interested in how simple shapes can act as anchors for the nervous system: a soft visual language that invites steadiness, unity, and repair. My Judaism is an enduring root of this work, and Sacred Windows widens the threshold—making space for a shared human longing: to be held, to belong, and to return to what is essential.
Before focusing fully on studio practice, I spent many years designing wellness-oriented interiors and studying how environments shape what we feel. That devotion continues here. Because the fiber is protected inside a cleanable acrylic enclosure, Sacred Windows is designed for healthcare and restorative settings, including hospitals, acute care, clinics, infusion centers, family waiting, staff respite, senior living, hospice, and restorative hospitality—where calm and beauty can become a form of care.
If you’re a healthcare design professional and would like a preview, availability list, or trade information, reach out.
Thank you!