ORIGINAL DECORATIVE ART by SUMMER JOY
Meet Summer
Summer Joy has been artistically involved her whole life,
ever since she could hold a pencil, paintbrush or needle. Possessing a
brain condition called synesthesia
(or synaesthesia)
she has enjoyed a world unusually full of colour ever since she can
remember, which has enhanced her artistic appreciation of everything
around her. She has explored such varied arts and crafts as painting
and drawing, numerous sewing arts including quilt-making and
appliqué, basket weaving, and various forms of folk art design
and decoration. She has a compulsive desire to beautify whatever is
around her, and a particular eye for the artistic potential in even the
most mundane items. She is a dedicated recycler by nature, and she
gains immense delight from taking something that would be considered
throwaway junk and making it into beautiful and useful items for the
home and garden.
SummerWare was born when she became inspired by English canal ware decoration, and she originally intended to focus on this style of ornamentation. However, as she began decorating small items acquired from the tip for use in her home in England, her own folk art style emerged and it continues to develop and diverge into different areas of decorative exploration.
Summer has two daughters and a baby granddaughter, and for many
years made her home on Vancouver Island and Hornby Island on Canada's
west coast. She married Jim Webb, an English craftsman, in 2002 and
moved to England to join him. She and Jim live on a farm in
Warwickshire, between Rugby and Coventry. They are both avid gardeners
and she draws much inspiration for her work from her garden. Her other
interests include
traditional folk music, animals, and British humour.
