Joanna Creates Art
Joanna Becker
Joanna Becker is a freelance illustrator and 1st-degree black belt. Graduating Summa Cum Laude from PCAD with a BA in illustration and a minor in Art History with a special focus on medieval art, she has a passion for teaching. Originally from Fort Kent, Maine, she is focused on researching and improving her own artwork and helping others to achieve their own artistic and creative goals.
Currently living in Pennsylvania, Joanna aspires to study and teach different methods of art creation as a lifelong scholar in Lancaster. In this city, she co-owns the Arts Dojo Bushi and Brush, where she teaches martial and visual arts as an extension of her devotion to learning and helping others learn. A strong academic work ethic propels this goal.
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"Medieval art has always drawn me in with its delicate ornamentation and attention to detail. Since I was nine, I have been studying what makes these borders and manuscript illustrations depict fantasy in such a fascinating way. Even before then I was mesmerized by folklore and fairy tales, and sought to share what I imagined with others.
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Historical artwork, such as illuminated manuscripts, is my passion. As I incorporate motifs and ideas from ancient practices, I seek to modernize art that inspires me by carefully breaking the border. Something about how the ornamentation accents the illustrations cradled within a frame draws me in.
I chose to become an illustrator to breathe life into stories I love and create medieval fantasy pieces. Mythology has been intrinsic to my pursuit of subject material. From a young age I knew that as long as I had something I could create an image with, anything I imagined could come to life. I also understood that the more I practiced the better I could share new ideas with others.
The idea that every person who looks at illustrations will have different perspectives, infinite experiences everyone goes through, has propelled me into searching for ways to share what I have held close my entire life. A viewer can become a part of the story, like a window into a familiar fantastic world.
To me, words are as essential to life as illustrations. The monks that spent hours decorating them knew this to be so. I intend to follow in that endless practice: devoting my life to finding new ways for improving my artwork and helping others do the same. In teaching, there is learning, and I know I will forever be a scholar."