Joseph grew up in Switzerland, and her road to Vancouver and an artistic career was a round-about one. When she was in her early 20s, she traveled to England to study English. There, she met a young engineer from Borneo. They fell in love and stayed in touch. A few years later, after he found work in Vancouver, he invited Joseph to join him. She had never been to Canada before.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I came for three months,\u201d Joseph told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cI loved it here. Everyone was so open and friendly. I felt free here, felt that I could do anything I wanted. Life here was much less structured, not as many rules as back home in Switzerland. It felt like there could be more than one way to do stuff, and that freedom attracted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many others, she was captivated by the nature of British Columbia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mountains, the sea, the forest. It was like Switzerland, but more \u2013 more open, more generous,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Of course, it took time for every document to be signed and she could finally settle into her married life in Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHome in Switzerland, I had an education as a kindergarten teacher, but my diploma wasn\u2019t accepted here in Canada,\u201d Joseph said. So, she opened an after-school art club for local children.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always loved doing art, loved being creative,\u201d she said. \u201cI was involved in several community art projects with my young students in North Vancouver. We painted balconies, murals, created some street banners.\u201d<\/p>\n But, eventually, she wanted to dedicate herself to art full-time, and she felt she needed more education in this regard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt about the same time \u2013 year 2000 \u2013 a couple of my family members in Switzerland died, and it was hard for me. I couldn\u2019t be there with my family as much as I wanted,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n Creating art felt like a necessity for her then, a balm to her grieving heart. She sold her art studio business and enrolled in art-related continuing education classes at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and Langara College.<\/p>\n \u201cI took many classes and workshops in the next few years,\u201d said Joseph. \u201cWhenever I liked an artist, I found a way to learn from them. Among my mentors were Jeanne Krabbendam, Don Farrell, Lori Goldberg, Nurieh Mozaffari, Steven Aimone and more. I\u2019d call it a self-directed art education.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She emerged from that time an accomplished artist and art teacher. She exhibited widely in Canada and abroad. She taught both children and adults.<\/p>\n \u201cI love teaching art,\u201d she said. \u201cAt first, I preferred teaching children, but, as my own children grew older, I gravitated towards teaching adults and seniors. Everything has its time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Through all the changes in her life, Joseph kept making art. She paints figures and faces, flowers and feathers in her Dandelion Art Studio in North Vancouver.<\/p>\n \u201cWomen are my predominant subject,\u201d she said. \u201cThey inspire me. They embody how strength and resilience can coexist with vulnerability, and how setbacks are merely steppingstones on the path to achieving one\u2019s goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Her technique is often mixed media. \u201cI collect old magazines, newspapers, cards. People bring them to me, too. I rip them to pieces \u2013 never cut with scissors \u2013 and glue those text fragments to my canvases to see what could emerge. I love the process of creation, love the empty canvas that becomes an image with a meaning and a message. I never know what the current painting is about until it is done. The painting itself guides me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the beginning of this year, Joseph learned about the Zack Gallery\u2019s call for artists and submitted her proposal for a solo show.<\/p>\n \u201cI had enough paintings with text and letters to fill a gallery,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to emphasize the texts, so I started searching for quotes from famous women to attach to each painting. I read thousands of quotes on the internet before I made my selection for each painting. It was very interesting and amusing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her palette is colourful and her compositions sophisticated.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of them depict a specific woman,\u201d she said. \u201cThey all come from my imagination. I wanted to paint something about perfume, and my painting \u2018Fragrant Rain\u2019 was the result.\u201d The woman in the painting saunters under her umbrella, while the rain hides the details, though one can make out a perfume bottle in her bag. Coco Chanel\u2019s tongue-in-cheek quote accentuates the painting.<\/p>\n \u201cWear Your Words\u201d boasts three female figures, in red, pink and orange, their clothing decorated with disjointed texts. We don\u2019t know what the women are doing. Are they dancing? Are they passing each other on the street? The letters filling their clothing jump at the viewers. \u201cWords are the clothes your thoughts wear,\u201d says the quote by Amanda Patterson that accompanies this painting.<\/p>\n Most of the works on display are full of colour, so the one in black and white draws the eye. \u201cShadows in Motion\u201d is actually a diptych. Joseph explained its roots.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always loved traveling, and we traveled a lot. When, after 37 years of happy marriage, my husband passed away, I wanted to prove to myself that I could travel alone, too. I went to Mexico. I walked on the beach and watched my shadow. After awhile, I started posing, jumping and photographing my shadow in every awkward position. My hands were here and there, up and to the sides. I bent. I stretched. The sun was strong and my shadow seemed to dance. I wanted to capture every nuance. The painting was born out of those photos.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another travel destination \u2013 Amsterdam \u2013 inspired a couple of paintings. \u201cStrength Becomes Her\u201d and \u201cMoving On\u201d both have the word \u201cBISON\u201d in them.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in Amsterdam and visited an art show about bison,\u201d Joseph explained. \u201cIt was in a warehouse \u2013 a huge building with many different artists. They had a catalogue as large as a newspaper, and I asked for two catalogues. When I came home, I tore those catalogues into shreds and used the ripped words in the paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n Both paintings employ bold, punchy colours. Both are rather large.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bison is huge and powerful, and I wanted my paintings to reflect that,\u201d said Joseph.<\/p>\n Women, Words and Wisdom opened Oct. 12 and will run until Nov. 18. The official opening reception, with the artist in attendance, will be held on Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. To learn more about the artist, visit\u00a0<\/span>thereseljoseph.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/oct-25-VA.25.Therese-Joseph-Wear-Your-Words.jpg\")
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