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I've always had an interest in creating. Growing up in the mountains of S.W. Virginia, there were days when I told my mother I was bored, she would always remind me to go make something. I would get out my crayons, scissors, brown paper bags, glue and I'd "make something". My father was a chemical engineer, so very math and science oriented and my mother, although very artistic, was traditional in her expression. I sometimes struggled with loving art but did not enjoy many of the traditional, by-the-book ways of doing it! Not until my sophomore year in college at Ft Hays State University in Kansas, when I took my first ceramics class, did I know I had found what I was looking for and what fit me! I majored in ceramics and minored in painting. After moving to Florida, I discovered Raku firing in 1987 and have used this ancient Japanese way of firing for most of my work the last 30 years. My clay work is hand-built, mostly using the slab method. I tend to work in series, with probably my best known and largest series being my clay shoes. I began them in 1998 and did many shows and invitational exhibits featuring them. I started with realistic shoes and then they worked themselves into more whimsical themes. I tend to jump around on subject matter, from teapots, birds, pears and apples, to clocks and bottles, to whimsical figurative pieces, sometimes going back to one many years later. My work is recognizable by its bold colors along with patterns of black and white. Clay has been my focus until 2019 when I had a desire to use paint again and began mono printing small works which mix well with my clay work. I love to experiment and break the art rules, so clay and mono printing both lend themselves to this rather well. Soon I hope to begin mono printing on clay. As of March 2022, I am fortunate to have been with Tower Gallery 30 years! It’s been the most wonderful place to have spent most of my adult life!

To see all of JoAnne's available artwork in our online shop, click here.