Johanna McKenzie

Johanna (Joan) McKenzie, who is a native New Englander, began working as an artist in the early eighties. She started out as a clay sculptor, specializing in clay and porcelain animals which she exhibited at Nonquit Pottery, the Naval War College and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. In 1986, Joan decided to focus in on painting and worked extensively in pastels, which were then exhibited mostly in Rhode Island. Now, Joan works in oil on panel or oil on prepared copper sheets as well as in encaustics. She was a founding member of the Art League of Rhode Island and the person that created life for the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project. The project began when Joan heard about the anti-graffiti efforts in New York involving artists painting huge billboards of boot leather made by Timberland Company. The purpose behind this was to show that when art is applied to the right surface it can be very valuable. After learning about the New York project Joan presented a proposal for a similar project for the Rhode Island area. Timberland awarded her a grant of Timberland boots and art supplies. She and seven other artists would work with the students of Central Falls High School on this anti-graffiti endeavor. This project is taking place during the Fall 2007 semester and will end with a celebration on December 14th highlighting the work of the students and artists. Without Joan this inspiring project would not be possible. Thanks to her passion to inspire the youth to do something productive with art, Timberland boots will never look the same. Joan’s test boot broadcasts her fine work with animals and brings the boot alive with a colorful display of birds. To learn more about Johanna and see her work visit her website at http://www.mollynook.com