Joanna Powell

Joanna Powell is a native Texan, born in Dallas. She grew up going through other people’s trash with her Dad and siblings each weekend hoping to find treasure. Her Mom was an English teacher and her father was a dental lab technician. Growing up it was never just hot outside, it was "Hotter than hell!" Southern sayings such as this, influence the stories she illustrates in her work. The work revolves around the comedy that comes from the tragic parts of human existence. She explores themes of embarrassment, beauty and sexuality through the use of the ceramic vessel. Powell is interested in how the world we live in is different than we perceive it, from the tangible to the intangible. Rendering anything, i.e. a tornado to a tree, illustrates the discrepancy between perception and reality that drives her practice.