What is the source of inspiration, my designs?

I have always steered away from looking at other artists work for inspiration because I don’t want to be influenced in any way -I want my art to stay as true to me, my style, my designs, my voice and my journey. 

My art has been a visual depiction of my personal journey of emergence and discovering my own truth, yet I have only recently come to realise that my heart is where the ‘theme’ for each piece is coming from.

If I think of what has motivated me in my work in the past, it has been the enjoyment in helping others to recognise their inner light, whether it was encouraging  one of my art students to find their creative gift and fully express it, or helping one of my personal training clients to realise they had an amazing body that was there  to be enjoyed, if they treated it with love and respect.

On a personal level my journey has however been, along with a huge percentage of the population, one of healing the heart. Why is it so challenging to give oneself the same love as we share with others, or to recognise and then act upon what our heart is trying to tell us - our heart is our guidance system after all, our lighthouse for want of a better analogy!

It is often hard to see our own light and our full potential - well this has certainly been my biggest struggle in life.

Heartfelt energies are however what make me happy, they fuel me..Seeing my dog so excited as he views the woodlands every morning as if it’s his first ever time, giving an animal freedom whether freedom from its leash or cage, watching anyone do something wonderful without anyone knowing, such as spontaneously hugging their loved one, or just watching someone flow with life with inner confidence and grace.

I came to realise very recently that each piece I’ve been creating has been message from my heart to me ..whether it is to deal with a challenging situation with ‘Poise’, to love and respect my femininity ( ‘Efflorescence’ and ‘Pearl’ ), to show my light without fear ( ‘Presence’ ) or to dig deep  into my inner ‘Wisdom’. The names intuitively come very early on if not as soon as I’ve sketched or created a free flow design.

My heart has always guided me in my life and I am so grateful to my art for now being its voice - so I can in turn learn to heal and to love all aspects of myself and this experience…the challenging as well as the great parts. I want my work to strongly emanate such emotions and in turn encourage others to tap into these heartfelt energies also.

So why is the feminine highlighted in my work ? Because feminine energies are sensuous but they are also strong and heart centred. 

I also continue to enjoy capturing the sensuality of the feminine form- namely  the curves and the following lines that are soft on the eye and calming to the mind. The female in her many emotive states has been a long time muse for me. I especially love carving faces- these have their own unique style but my aim is always to create softness and a sense of serenity through the features. 

What inspires me to now to share my art is so others can experience the calm and healing it has given me. In a world that is bombarded with negative news we all need to turn our focus more to our hearts and lead by its voice.

 “Our brief for the sculpture was to signify our unity and love for each other. The amazing result was the sculpture entitled Heartfelt  now seated on our front door step which we pass everyday and is a constant reminder of both our love for each other and the love that Jo had infused into the finished work. “ Keith Brannon . Architect

With love
Jo x