 |
It would have most people working with tape measures and graph paper. If there is a term “creative intelligence” then Joy has loads.
But to Joy, it’s not all about her. She loves inspiring others. When she lived in England, as well as being an Avante Garde finalist with her costumes made from stitched and woven hair, she also became an Honorary Member of Fellowship of Hair Artists in Great Britain.
This made her top of her industry in England. This was brought about partly from sharing her craft with others. She took a team of 6 young people and taught them the freedom to create.
“New inventions are not made by following and copying but by not being afraid to trust your intuition” she says.
Joy’s haircutting is a work of art itself but Joy changed her medium after a hypertufa course with Pauline Mann several years ago.
|
She has since developed her own mix and specializes in plaster painting, canvas and metal.
Her partner, Dave, has learnt to not throw out found items, as Joy utilizes and finds inspiration from what is in front of her.
Joy loves Mangawhai. Her passion is in helping others to be aware of the talents they have. Her vision is to keep the essence of Mangawhai and enhance it by making it a place of art eventually to be become the Art Centre of the North.
“We are blessed to have so many artists with such special talents” she says.
I think the Mangawhai Artists Association are blessed to have Joy at its helm. With her welcoming enthusiasm it’s great her motto is to “include, not exclude.”
|
|
I caught up with Joy in her shed (studio) working on a commissioned Stingray for the Mangawhai Museum. Even in its pre-plastered state it had a gracefulness about it that I felt it could take flight on its meshed wings at any moment.
To Joy, art is a passion. She sleeps it, eats it and creates it by day. “I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist. It’s in me. I just know how to make things. I never draw a piece first or plan it. I get the idea in my head and create it with my hands”
This is an amazing gift when you see the size and scale of the stingray in progress.
|
