Artist Biography
Joyce was born into a large family in Ottawa, where she enjoyed cycling through its many parks, neighborhoods and NCC properties.
After obtaining her B.A. and teacher training there, she moved to Toronto, working briefly with volunteers at Riverdale Hospital, then persued a career in Elementary teaching. Following an injury from a car accident, she struggled, but found her passion for teaching with the support of her husband and two daughters.
Upon retirement she transferred that passion into a desire to paint. Her art reflects some of her teacher qualities.....creativity, humour, childlike playfulness or reflection of current issues. An avid traveler, Joyce has also used her wanderlust as a source of inspiration.
Joyce has honed her skills through art courses and workshops at various venues. More recently she has worked under the guided tutelage of Gary Smith, a prominent Toronto artist.
Joyce is an active member of the local art community, having shown at Neilson Park Creative Centre, The Assembly Hall, Luke’s Studio, and also a solo exhibit in Corktown.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

In 2012 retired from elementary teaching. My passion there was Kindergarten! I loved the freedom to be creative. I knew I’d have to fill that void and thought I’d try “Art”. I had no idea whether or not I’d like it, and had no previous experience, but; I’d always wanted to learn.

The Kindergarten parents gave me a gift certificate from “Curry’s “. That was the beginning! With trepidation I took classes, starting with watercolours. I switched briefly to pastels, then acrylics; and am now expanding to oils. Some of my pieces reflect the playfulness of Kindergarten while others express a political or current event, or a memory from my travels.

I love the endless learning process and the fellow artists I’ve met.

Here are some of my works in a variety of mediums. Thanks for looking!