​In the Spring of 2024, Heritage House Publishing announced
300 Mason Jars, Preserving History as part of their fall lineup.

Below are photos of Joanne Thompson's book launch at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Nov 7, 2024.  
​Please visit Joanne’s website for updates on future events and media coverage.
And sign up for her excellent monthly newsletter!

​Art Openings offers complimentary updates to webpage clients. So I am delighted to celebrate Joanne’s success in the publishing world! In 2019, Art Openings highlighted her stellar career with the webpage Wood and Water: Tranquil Moments (See below). The webpage includes a wonderful video of Joanne orchestrating labyrinth making at Coast Collective in 2014.

Joanne describes the genesis of the 300 Mason Jar project as an effort to understand the history of her rural BC family. However, the story became too large and complex to navigate. She found a way to focus the important pieces of the puzzle by placing objects in mason jars. Painting these concise still lifes became a way to encapsulate and honour the memories and emotions involved. This allowed the story to evolve in a natural way. “One thing I have learned along the way is that families are complicated,” she says “with each member holding their own “truth” about past events.” Joanne felt great pride and tenderness when mailing out the completed books to family members.

Photos of Joanne Thomson’s Book Launch at AGGV Nov 7, 2024, 4:00-7:00, Kearley Room.

Joanne Thomson at Cedar Hill Arts Centre Main Gallery, 2019

Detail: Autumn Reflections - Cameron Lake, W/C on canvas, 36x24, 2018.

Wood and Water: Tranquil Moments ​
​October 22 - November 10, 2019.

Includes special guests - students from Joanne’s classes.
Opening Reception: Saturday Nov 2, 1-5 PM with demonstrations.

I first met Joanne Thomson in 2014, when she led a Labyrinth making workshop at Coast Collective Arts Centre on Esquimalt Lagoon. How she organized her motley crew of volunteers in rubber boots was marvellous to behold. Confident and full of smiles, she encouraged us to follow her directions and off we scuffled. At the end of our squelching around in seemingly aimless circles, it was done, yes a labyrinth! Our small miracle in a muddy March field. ​

Arbutus at Tower Point, W/C on canvas, 30x60 in.

Joanne works hard at making everyday miracles appear attainable and even fun. She guides people to connect with nature both outdoors and in the studio. On November 3, she leads her second “slow walk" around the wilderness treasure of Mary Lake. “It’s about taking time to really look at things,” she says. The public can look closely at new watercolours by Thomson and her art students this month. Wood and Water: Tranquil Moments, opens at the Cedar Hill Main Gallery October 22.

​A professional artist with years of experience, Thomson completed her extensive Mason Jar Series in June 2019. Several are included in the exhibition. Over the summer, the artist spent time hiking and canoeing, gaining personal insights and ideas for upcoming projects. “I seem to be seeking serenity and painting the contentment it brings,” she says. She also notices that her palette is warming to include more reds and oranges. She looks forward to a new beginning with more stories to tell.

Maple Embraced by Cedar - Francis King Park, 30x40 in, 2018

Lone Tree Hill - Arbutus Overtaken by Fir, W/C on canvas, 30X40 in, 2019.

​Several of her current and former students are featured in Wood and Water. Teaching adults is a skill she learned through education and experience. Thomson has a master’s degree in Adult Education (MAdEd) from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. Her research involved study of how the right and left brain hemispheres work together in artmaking. The left brain is analytical and verbal, able to assemble pieces of information in a sequential manner. The right brain is intuitive and visual, looking first at the whole picture, then the details. “When adults come to making art, accessing the right brain becomes important,” she says. Thomson encourages and facilitates this process with exercises and experimentation.

Autumn Reflections - Cameron Lake, W/C on canvas, 36x24, 2018.

Winter Pond - Goldstream, W/C on canvas, 24x18 in, 2019.

​A student who can attest to Thomson’s teaching skills is Diane McEwen Mellott. She first saw Thomson’s paintings in Focus magazine. “I decided I wanted to paint just like her,” she says. But Thomson encourages her students to find their own voice and exude confidence. So, Mellott has learned to express her own personal vision. “We are all at different skill levels in our group,” says Mellott, "but Joanne finds a way to celebrate each one of us.” Meeting weekly with her watercolour group, Mellott’s skills now include colour mixing, creating perspective and defining shapes. In her watercolour Summer’s Wave Goodbye, Elk Lake, the artist uses a blue background to present the leaves. The veins and curling edges of the fallen leaves are crisply evident, the various tones of ochre and sienna present an harmonious palette.

Mason Jar Series #259, with Western Hemlock, 11x7, 2019

Mason Jar Series #62, Settler’s Cabin, W/C on paper, 2014

Thomson works from sketches and direct observation. For her Mason Jar series, she made each jar a still life in her studio. She drew the image on watercolour paper, then painted it. For trips into the forest, she takes a sketch book and folding table that allows her to draw standing up. Annotations about light, temperature and colour are added to the sketch. Once home, she determines if the sketch warrants a larger version. If so, she redraws the image on to a stretched canvas or watercolour paper.
To enlarge the sketch, she uses her conceptual skills as a mural maker. Curves are exaggerated keeping in mind the composition’s balance and rhythm. “Painting with watercolour on large surfaces takes a lot of time and patience,” she says. The artist paints like a dancer, using her whole boy to make the smooth lines, section by section. Because she works flat, leaning over the paper requires core strength. Thomson keeps in shape with yoga, and English country dancing. ​

Summer’s Wave Goodbye - Elk Lake, by Diane McEwen Mellott, 7.5x10 in, W/C on paper

Cedar Medley, W/C on canvas, 30x40 in, 2019.

​The artist does a lot of direct observation in the field. Her painting, Lone Tree Hill (Arbutus Overtaken by Fir) resulted from an expedition to find Lady Fairy Slippers (calypso bulbosa pink). While scouring the rocky terrain, she came across a group of arbutus crowded out by taller fir trees. The straight fir trunks contrasted with the sinuous arbutus limbs. The visual dynamics sparked a connection to rhythm and counterpoint. “The soft interplay of the tree trunks unfolded like a lovely melody,” she says.

​Thomson is an active member of the arts community. She organizes painting retreats in beautiful settings for her students. Her conceptual mind creates murals for schools and community organizations. She was President of the Island Illustrators Society for six years. Island Illustrators recently collaborated with Saanich Parks and Recreation for their Every.Day.Art: Exhibition. Held at the Cedar Hill Arts Centre in August 2019, this three week show included a collaborative art project celebrated at the Culture Days weekend. In July, at the AGGV Moss Street Paint In, she got over 1000 signatures on her “put yourself in nature” artwork.

Mason Jar Series, #289-290 with hammer & ruler, W/C on paper, 2019

Mason Jar Series #275 with recorder and whistle, W/C on paper.

​Joanne Thomson at Cedar Hill Arts Centre Main Gallery,
October 22 - November 10, 2019 ​
Email: [email protected].
Visit her website at joannethomson.com
​
The Arts Centre Main Gallery, 3220 Cedar Hill Road.  
​Hours of operation are 6:30am-9:30pm.
Joanne is at the gallery for these times:
Saturday, November 2, 1 - 5 pm for the reception
Monday, November 4, 2 - 5 pm
Wednesday, November 6,  5 - 8 pm
Friday, November 8,  2 - 5 pm
Sunday, November 10th.  2 - 5 pm. ​

Joanne Thomson at the opening of Wood and Water, Nov 2, 2019.

​The opening reception of Wood and Water on Nov 2 was a great success. Family and friends of the guest artists came to celebrate with Joanne’s talented students. Students with their artwork are below. All paintings are watercolour on paper.

Jane Newman, Through to Open Space.

Diane McEwen Mellott, Summer’s Wave Goodbye.

Mary Barnes, The Bud.

Nancy Cole, Into the Mist.

Jim Goff, Bill Goff and Terry Goff on Willows Beach.

Rob MacDonald, Tea Time (above) and The Grocery List.

Maureen Shields, Card Series: Adventures of Midge and Benji and Northern Landscape.

​Included below is a video clip I took of Thomson at Esquimalt Lagoon in 2014 with the labyrinth makers. Now that the property is being developed I wonder if our little patch of ground is intact or paved over. One thing is for certain: Joanne Thomson will go on making her quiet but powerful images for many years to come. Her quest for wholeness and renewal is just like a labyrinth, which combines the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path.