Miriam Joy's Wax Design Techniques
An artist, teacher, author, inventor, and business owner, Miriam Joy creates art with a sincere passion. She was blessed to grow up on the Navajo reservation, where her father taught school; this gave Miriam an appreciation of the Native American culture and helped her develop her own style and art, which includes gourd art, jewelry making, painting, and various other mediums. When asked what is was like growing up on the Navajo reservation, she likes to sometimes refer to herself as the little white girl on the Rez; who not only was befriended by the Navajo people but also was taught to appreciate what nature brings to us all through creating art and the inner peace that goes with it. I am the happiest when I am creating. Miriam moved back to Arizona a few years ago where she was influenced again by the big bellowing flat bottom clouds, the turquoise jewelry, the red clay mountains, and the most beautiful sunsets in the world. I knew that I had come home. Having taught craft classes and tole painting for many years, the next step was to become a full-time artist. Currently Miriam travels the United States as a professional artist, both teaching and displaying her gourd art using the wax technique that she created at art festivals, shows, and galleries.