We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joy Giles a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Joy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The Art Garage mission statement is inspiring and fulfilling. Everyone who works here lives it and encourages it in others. We really want to foster a safe, encouraging, and creative space for all who come to our location or work with us off site. Currently I am working with a group of adults with intellectual and physical disabilities at the Laradon adult center in Globeville. Every week, the day I get to go and work with this incredible group of people is hands down my favorite day of the week. Over the past few months this group has used many different art media to create paintings, collages, still life drawings, mixed media works, prints and ceramic pieces. The level of mutual trust that has developed during our art classes is conducive to courageous art making. I love supporting them in their creative endeavors and seeing how proud they are about what they make and how good they feel about themselves. I feel so fortunate that, through The Art Garage, I am given these kinds opportunities to collaborate with people from all over the city and all walks of life and support them as they delve into their own creative self-expression.

Joy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always loved being creative. I have also loved working with children. To me, being an art teacher is the best of both worlds. After having worked at a private school in Denver for almost 15 years, I came to The Art Garage hoping that I could just concentrate on art; teaching it and working with people who understand how important creativity is for living your best life. When students come here, our adult students as well, it’s important to us for them to feel accepted, safe and able to explore various media with no judgement or expectations. Creativity is very personal and it needs to be respected and nurtured. At The Art Garage we strive to do just that!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

This is an interesting question. The first thing that comes to mind is the pandemic quarantine in 2020. In that challenging time people really relied on creative expression just to cope with their circumstances. They danced and baked and painted and sang. It was a creative explosion. I find it sad that now that things are getting back to normal, all that creative expression is disappearing and becoming less important again. I feel very fortunate that I get to work in the creative sector every day and do my best to encourage and support our students in their projects and ideas. Society needs creativity, it needs creative people and organizations. A great way to support that is to recognize the importance of creativity, of the arts, of self expression and get involved! Take a class, donate to creative non-profit organizations, volunteer for one of them, attend an event (many of them are free), be interested in your child’s artwork and what they did in their art classes at school, also music, writing, drama, dance (maybe start calling those classes essentials instead of specials!) The arts provide our youth opportunities to deal with what they are feeling inside in safe and profound ways. Making the arts and creative expression a priority will only better society and encourage more understanding.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When you create something with your own hands from your own ideas it elevates your mood and builds self confidence. It makes you feel good. In my lifetime I want to help anybody who wants to find their creative spark. The Art Garage allows me to do that and I am so grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artgaragedenver.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artgaragedenver/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtGarageDenver/

Image Credits
All photos taken by The Art Garage and Sara Elise Photography (for The Art Garage)