Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, Joan always found the beauty in the local settings, the customs and the rich history. From this “small postage stamp of native soil” (to quote Faulkner), Joan draws on the emotional pull of place in her artwork.
When Joan first enrolled in a beginning painting class at the Spruill Center of the Arts thirteen years ago, a transformation began. She developed a serious approach to art — composition classes, color theory, manipulated papers, mixed media techniques, many painting classes, lectures and workshops, In addition, art history study and world-wide travel have enriched her studies.
As a member of Dunwoody Fine Art Association and Roswell Fine Arts Alliance, Joan has been recognized multiple times in juried exhibits. In her very first exhibit, Joan’s painting was selected by the Board of the Spruill Center for the Arts for the Permanent Collection.
PAINTINGS FROM THE JUBILATION SERIES
ARTIST STATEMENT
How we experience a place is transformative. Place determines the quality of life for us. Roots, whether literal or figurative, give people stability and a sense of security. No single place is complete on its own; we interact within home, neighborhood, country, the past, the moment — simultaneously.
At its very core and historical roots, art reflects the multiplicity of place, focusing on time, geography or movement. From the earliest cave drawings to the Golden Record on recent spacecraft, humans seek to communicate the story of our world, our place, to unknown viewers. Art communicates our existence.
Art is an emotional response to place, an attempt to communicate the images and feelings that provide visual stimulation. Through my gestures, mark-making, color and shape, I strive to create the bond made between an individual and place — the environment may provide joy and energy, turmoil and stress, memories of time past.
Despite the multiplicity of place, the artist seeks that connectiveness.
