Maureen Minahan Joyce



Kissing Mugs made to bring as smile to your face



Maureen Joyce is a busy woman: mom, wife, teacher, business woman, student, artist currently working in clar...and probably a few other things I don't happen to know about.  I met her about 3 years ago when I first started coming to the clay studio of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, which had just opened its doors as a teaching studio.

Maureen exemplifies an energetic talented artist, who can somehow take time to help her students (and children probably too) with carful attention, not a bit rushed.  Though I'm pretty sure she's figured out how to get a few extra hours in the day compared to me. 

She has studied at Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University, continuing her education at Pitt University,  Community College of Allegheny County, Harrisburg Area Community College, Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey , and most recently participating in the entrepreneurial program at ABTECH CC here in Asheville.Although Maureen is originally from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania she has lived in Manhattan New York, Indianapolis Indiana, Carlisle Pennsylvania, Milford New Jersrey moving to Black Mountain in 2007.

She joined a partnership of Morning Sky Pottery with Geoff Bird last year, exhibiting their wares in an outdoor gallery retail space  on Cherry Street here in Black Mountain, showcasing local art. .  Maureen frequently could be seen demonstrating her techniques of throwing and altering her pots, shaping many faces into mugs, vases and other sculptures.  These are her signature pieces.  Maureen is also a driving force of the business aspect of Morning Sky.

She has been busy from the first at the clay studio at BMCA, from being a student, then a studio assistant, to becoming one of the teachers just 3 years later.  And that's not all, she shares her great ideas with all, including inviting other clay experts to give demonstrations at our clay studio, or take students on field trips to other potter's studios. She's had several pit firings of pottery on her property. She spearheaded a wall tile exhibit for the last Holly Jolly show and sale at BMCA. She helped with the signage of the studio, and writes most of the blog that is here:

http://blackmountainartsclay.blogspot.com/

Maureen has succeeded in having a family life and an art career.  I look forward to watching  this talented artist develop and change as she goes forward, learning, sharing, and experimenting with clay.



Maureen Joyce, center in white blouse at BMCA studio



Art is Fabulous, women artists!

Maureen Joyce sculpture, 2010



Dervish Woman by Barbara Rogers, 2010






Art is fabulous; one of the most rewarding endeavors a human being can pursue. But (and this is huge), you burn with it. Art consumes the artist deliciously, but it is a harsh discipline in terms of time and concentration. To create it spectacularly a person needs to eat, sleep and breathe art - which means a lot of other things must be neglected (temporarily or totally) by default.


 A female artist can concentrate on art or take care of other people, but it's nearly impossible to do both at the same time. Please trust me here, and never again wonder why Grandma Moses came so late to art.





So how can we rectify this?
We can't do anything about the past. My advice to you, today, is:

• Create art.
• Support women artists. Women who are alive and struggling, not the long-gone ones we hold up as examples.
• Help each other. Strength in numbers, Ladies.
• Make the right choices for you. If you burn to create art, it's OK not to raise a family. If you want to raise a family and make art, marry wisely, learn how to be really patient and surround yourselves with like-minded friends who'll co-op with you occasionally.

Source:
Where Are All the Famous Women Artists? An Open Letter to Younger Sisters

By Shelley Esaak, for About.com