Joan’s passion for art began in 1974. She was sitting in a café in Guatemala when she picked up a pen and began drawing on a napkin. She was hooked! She came to Mendocino to attend Charles Stevenson’s three-year fine arts program at the Mendocino Art Center fifty years ago. She went on to study printmaking and painting with a variety of teachers. She also started the Art Center’s library! In a women’s art group called “Thursday’s women”, she met many local artists, including Kristin Otwell. Together they founded the Art Explorers nonprofit program in Fort Bragg to serve neurodivergent and physically disabled adult artists and ran the program as co-directors for many years. The program has grown and is flourishing today under the leadership of wonderful young professionals. Joan was a member of Partners Gallery from 2010 to 2018. She has shown her art in many local venues over the years: including the Mendocino Art Center, The Northcoast Artists Gallery, the former Gamel Frasier Gallery, and Fort Bragg Center for the Arts .

Joan’s studio in Fort Bragg is spacious with high ceilings and a view of the woods. It is chock full of paintings, art materials, photos, clippings and cards from friends and family. It is a joyful space.

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