December
2007
Serigraph                                            

Joy Vaughan                
Residence: South Bristol, Maine, United States
Birthplace: Richland, Washington, United States

When I was fourteen, my art teacher asked our class to place gray and black shapes on a white piece of paper. That simple process sparked a fire in me about the language of shape, texture, color, and design. From that moment on, I fell in love with image and the transformative power of the creative process. Like all love affairs, this one has been difficult, fun, and frustrating. I’ve often wanted to divorce myself. The problems of deciding on subject matter, developing technique, making meaning out of the whole process has been long, bewildering, and strenuous for me. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-forties that I finally understood my deepest interest was with the spirit and soul. When I began to put my attention there, the subject matter for my work naturally arose from dreams, visions, mediations, and experiences in the natural environment. My technique improved with time and discipline. Meaning continues to unfold.

My creative process is simple. I start with the glimmer of an image, idea, or an emotion, and then proceed into the dark. Soon, the piece will tell me what to do next, but I rarely know how it will turn out until it is finished. The making of an image is never separate from the rest of my life. It emerges from the experience and need. These small silk-screened prints were made in response to the seasons and the moon cycles.

Joy Vaughn is an artist living in South Bristol, Maine, and her work is primarily abstract and symbolic, dealing with images of the inner life. She works with individuals to help them discover and reclaim their creative energy, and to make images that have personal meaning and authenticity. She has taught art at the high school and college level, but prefers to work independently with people who want to follow the process and progress of their own creative and spiritual energies. She is the author of ‘Off the Edges and Outside the lines’ [1999, Third House Press], an interactive guide to the creative process.

Freelance Artist & Techer [1987–Present]

Education
Courses in Jungian Psychology, Journey Into Wholeness, Hendersonville, North Carolina [1999-Present]
Various Courses & Labs, Kubler/Merrill Associates [1987–Present]
Drawing & Painting, Master of Arts Liberal Studies Graduate Program, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut [1983]
Major in Printmaking, Massachusetts College of Art [MCAD], Boston, Massachusetts [1970–72; Dean’s List]
Bachelor of Arts, Art History, Hollins College, Roanoke, Virginia [1963–67]
Study of French & Art, École du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France and University of Paris [La Sorbonne], France [1963-67]

2008
Solo Exhibition, Starfire Studio, Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

2007
Group Exhibition, LOCA Gallery, Brunswick, Maine
Solo Exhibition, Starfire Studio, Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada