We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joan Stuart Ross a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joan Stuart , thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
My parents supported my college choice and its expense. However, they were worried that art would not work as a career. After six years at Boston Girls Latin School, I had a double major in religion and studio art at Connecticut College. My Dad said “if there were anything more ridiculous than majoring in religion, it had to be art!” I went ahead anyway, and with a scholarship, I continued my studies at Yale Divinity School with classes at Yale Art School. There I took Josef Albers’ Color Dynamics class, a most important guide for my future. With jobs and loans I earned an MA and MFA in Painting and Printmaking at the University of Iowa, and have been working in my studio and teaching art in Seattle ever since. My parents’ support in the beginning contributed to my strength and perseverance as I have been devoted to my vocation as an artist.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have known that I would be an artist and a teacher since childhood. My art teachers have been my mentors at all stages of my education. My artwork’s three main themes are color dynamics, depth, and a celebratory attitude. My encaustic and mixed media paintings are composed of paint, wax, collage and drawing.
In my paintings I’m interested in the spiritual side of what color and form signify. Technical elements and various tactile media contribute to the ideas and discoveries that are implicit in my art.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
It’s very important to show up and be present in one’s studio every day! Artist Jack Tworkov advised me to “be in your studio daily, so that Grace, the Muse, can alight!” I have never forgotten this pearl of wisdom and its necessity for creativity. It’s not easy to do, but if you decide to be present there, your creative work will follow!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Art is our salvation! I have found that my art has led me forward from disappointment, rejection, and life’s trials and tribulations. What works for me is to start a new series and to attend to new ideas in my studio. To go there, sit, think, experiment, read, write, play, all manifest my decision to be positive and to move on.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joanstuartross.com
- Instagram: @ross_joanstuart
- Facebook: Joany Ross
- Linkedin: Joan Stuart Ross
- Youtube: Joan Stuart Ross
Image Credits
Joanna Priestley Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross Joan Stuart Ross