Short Bio

JoAnn Borovicka is a freelance artist and author. In her visual art she specializes in mixed-media works that examine the heroism and complexity of simply being human. M.Ed. USC; B.A. Miami U

Statement

Each of my mixed media works tells a story. Whether exploring relationships with time, technology, popular culture, the past, or the future, I strive to depict universal themes of what it is to be human at this point in history. Materials include shapes that I carve, mold, sew, or in other ways create myself as well as found objects. I love to incorporate into my art objects that have already had a long life and are bursting with history and personality. 
 

Resume / CV

Contact Information
Email: joannborovicka@gmail.com
Websites: joannborovicka.com (also JosTree.artcall.org)
Phone: 864-901-5426

Art Background
JoAnn Borovicka recently retired from a career in the Arts and Education where she worked primarily in the South Carolina (SC) Lowcountry with some activity overseas. She now calls Greenville, SC home. Her work in the arts has been rich and varied and has included dance performance and instruction, award-winnning costume design, arts-in-education grant writing, drama and speech coaching, creative writing, professional storytelling, teacher training, art instruction (K-12-adult), and work in art and object conservation and restoration.
 
Current Creative Interests
While maintaining her writing activities, JoAnn has recently turned her creative energies to studio art with a special interest in creating upcycled artwork; that is, mixed media assemblages made by combining various manufactured or hand-made objects that have already had long lives and would otherwise be headed for a landfill. She established a home studio (Jo’s Tree) for this  purpose in October of 2018 and had her first large exhibit at the Artisanville Fine Arts Show at the Greenville, SC Convention Center on November 1-2, 2019.

January – March 2020 Participation in Juried Art Shows
JoAnn’s work is presently under exhibit in the following juried exhibitions

1. Octagonal Annual Art Exhibit in Ames, Iowa.  https://octagonarts.org/see/entry-guidelines/national-all-media-exhibit/
2. CorkHouse Gallery Small Works Exhibition in Savannah, Georgia. https://www.corkhousegallery.com
3. “Valley Art Gallery in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. https://www.valleyartcenter.org/
4. Colors of Humanity” online art magazine, January 2020 edition. https://www.colorsofhumanityartgallery.com 
5. “Facing Race Together” art exhibit at the Main Library in conjunction with the “Together SC 2020 Summit” in Columbia, South Carolina. To read the full document "The Vision of Race Unity -- America's Most Challenging Issue" quoted in her presentation, go to https://bahai-library.com/nsa_race_unity.

Education & Training
JoAnn earned her Masters of Education at the University of South Carolina where she studied the pedagogy of liberation and art. Her Bachelor of Arts was completed at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she studied education, ancient literature, and speech. JoAnn was trained in museum conservation and restoration techniques at the Israel Institute of Technology and as assistant to the Conservator in the Department of Holy Places at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. 
 
Certifications
JoAnn is certified by the South Carolina Department of Education as a Visual Art Instructor and a Speech Instructor. She is certified as a Roster Artist by the South Carolina Arts Commission in the area of drama and storytelling. And she has been certified as a Master Trainer for Global Learning Partners in Toronto, Canada. 
 
Recent Books
Crossing the Line—A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Change. Bellwood Press, 2019
Light of the Kingdom—Biblical Topics in the Baha’i Writings. Baha’i Publishing Trust, 2016