Born in Cape Town, South Africa (1957)​

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Joanne abandoned the world of academia in the early 1990's to concentrate on her first love -- arts and crafts.

 

Starting off with paper maché bowls, statuettes, and the like, she soon added other crafts to her growing repertoire. This included bead work and multimedia decorative art.  At that stage she was deeply involved in a successful arts and crafts co-operative with an outlet at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

 

She eventually decided to focus on her own work when she discovered the joys of working with pewter some years ago. Since then she has worked hard to hone her skills in that medium, successfully making  gifts and products to order. Her pewter art can be applied to virtually any base, including glass, stone, wood, paper etc.

 

Although initially self-taught, Joanne realised this was the craft of all crafts, so she invested in a beginner course with a really inspiring teacher and just kept going!

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Joanne still attends monthly pewter workshops with her mentor  to keep abreast of developments. She also gives the odd class of her own on request, thus passing on her knowledge and skills to others interested in pewter repousse - the art of embossing metal.

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Before she "saw the light", Joanne spent many years as a

university lecturer, community health researcher ​and museum

educationist. She holds a masters degree in environmental

education, but regrets not having followed her arty nose

from the start.

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Joanne lives with her husband in the Mother City, along with

their dogs Ukkӧ and Cassie, African Grey parrot Kimi,

and a tortoise called Om.