Janet Little is an American artist and poet who lives on the Aeolian island of Lipari, off Sicily.  She has a gallery called "La Casa Immaginaria" in the ancient neighborhood of Sopra la Terra, "Above the Earth". 

Her work is deeply influenced by her adopted home.  The Aeolian Islands, home to both Aeolus, guardian of the winds, and Vulcan, god of fire and fine artistry, are a place of great beauty and powerful elements.  The ever-changing, ever-present sea, live and dormant volcanoes, and extraordinarily rich and strange history and folklore of the place have all inspired and informed her work. She works in a variety of mediums, principally gouache, oil, and pencil. 

Her ex-votos, painted on the reverse side of glass, are in a traditional style.  Often they would be the only decoration in the homes of the poor on these islands.

Her fascination with the symbol of the mermaid has to do with their connection to a mysterious world which we can only glimpse at, and in many ways resembles the world of dreams.  Part us and part other, they embody playfulness and freedom, and also a sense of longing, perhaps for a time when we were truly part of nature. She sees the Madonna as a symbol of the original goddess, and the spirit of Source itself- kind, nurturing, generous, and tolerant.  She believes that art is meant to be a conduit between the human and the divine, and that only through beauty and mystery can we make this connection.

Her "droll, lavishly illustrated morality verse" Hecate the Bandicoot, will soon be reissued as an e-book.