Discerning our path

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Jo Myers-Walker
A pinned-on paper emblem reads "I stand with immigrants" with blue triangle symbol; artist Jo Myers-Walker with friend Jan at downtown Iowa City march

Protest symbolism (top);
marching with Jan

Artist Jo Myers-Walker and friend Berthe stand on a sidewalk at Mount St. Frances in Dubuque, Iowa with red brick buildings in the background

With Berthe at Mount
St. Francis in Dubuque

Earlier this month I was thankful for the opportunity to participate in a march in support of the rights of immigrants, and due process for all (Iowa City Press-Citizen article). In his Letter of the Holy Father to the Bishops of the United States of America in February, Pope Francis wrote:

“I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”

After the march I headed to the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque for a weekend gathering with the Sisters and Associates, titled “We Remember, We Celebrate, We Dream.” I enjoyed lots of hugs and blessings for the new year ahead of us. The Associates were celebrating 40 years; I have been an Associate for 15 years and still learning to discern my path in my own life. Our job is to carry on the charisms of caring for the Earth, standing with the poor, and peace and justice. (You don’t have to be a Franciscan to do that!)

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Fabric collage process

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Jo Myers-Walker
Fabric collage of shepherd and sheep by artist Jo Myers-Walker shown in process and assembled

Developing a story in fabric

Working from a poem or scriptures, we can develop a story using our special fabrics. First you cut out a background and next find the big shapes of people and places that represent your story. Then you can begin assembling the clothing and other details from your fabrics. For this collage the phrase I used was, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3).

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Small worlds

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Sculpture by artist Jo Myers-Walker showing whimsical street scene

Thanks to Alex at Ames History Museum
for this photo of the “bubble town”!
(Click image to view design larger)

Onesie printed with whimsical sketches of people by artist Jo Myers-Walker

A few bubble town residents
joined the onesie
welcoming committee

When the Ames History Museum expanded into the Pantorium building in downtown Ames, they were surprised (and so was I!) to find one of my “bubble town” sculptures in the basement. I made many of these and sold them primarily out East; the Mayo Clinic has one or two. They were easy to ship because of the protective Lexan™ bubble. The 3D cityscape inside is handmade paper, with some added elements.

This one was a commission piece, titled Miss B’s Cafe. I would interview the client and ask what they wanted to commemorate in the artwork. Here you have a street scene lined with businesses — across the front are The Mean Bean at left, a deli counter in the middle, and Miss B’s Cafe at right, with the couple in front dancing as they liked to do.

It was fun telling stories with the people in the little worlds, observing their goings-on. Now the bubble town people are migrating to baby clothing! I became a grandmother in November and could not resist having them visit on a onesie to welcome the newcomer.

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A calendar to celebrate the Canticle

Posted on November 19, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
2025 calendar from the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, shown as front cover and opened to the month of December featuring Canticle of Creation sculpture by artist Jo Myers-Walker

The calendar front cover, and opened to December with an image of the sculpture. The caption reads:
“Praise and bless my Lord, and give Him thanks,
and serve Him with great humility.”

Each year the friars of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi produce a calendar illustrated with artwork inspired by the life and teachings of St. Francis, which they provide at no charge to residents of Italy and to pilgrims visiting the Basilica. The 2025 calendar celebrates the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’s Canticle of the Sun, and includes an image of my Canticle of Creation sculpture!

From the Basilica’s website (using Google Translate):

    “In 1225, Saint Francis of Assisi composed the ‘Canticle of Brother Sun,’ an extraordinary hymn to the beauty of creation and universal love.
    On the occasion of [its] eighth centenary, we friars of the Basilica of Assisi want to celebrate this prayer of praise to God, which still today inspires us to live in harmony with nature and with others:  the 2025 calendar is a tribute to this message of peace and love.”

In 2013 I went on a pilgrimage to Assisi and painted scenes from the trip after my return. The experience was deeply meaningful to me, and the Canticle really spoke to me. In 2017 I painted on lighter-weight acrylic (which could be slumped) and a stronger Lexan™ background piece, joining them together to form the approx. 36″ x 63″ sculpture. The artwork shows St. Clare and St. Francis surrounded by figures from stories that are told about St. Francis’s life. The sculpture is currently displayed by the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa.

Visitors from Iowa meet with Brother Riccardo Giacon of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi

Sister Pat (at left) and Nancy (at right)
meet with Brother Riccardo in Assisi

In July of this year Brother Riccardo Giacon in Assisi emailed to ask permission to use an image of the sculpture to accompany a month of the Basilica’s 2025 calendar. The acrylic and Lexan™ materials are both transparent, and its supporting easel showed through in the largest photo I had, so Sarah Clark at Allegra worked with the image to remove the easel from the background and get it ready for print. Some pilgrims from Iowa were in Assisi when the new calendar came out, and got to meet with Brother Riccardo!

In an introductory essay in the calendar, Brother Riccardo writes:  “The Canticle of Brother Sun inspired Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’, which reminds not only Christians, but all people of goodwill, of the responsibility that everyone must take upon themselves to safeguard this world and pass it on to future generations, and above all to keep it as it truly is:  an icon of the beauty of God’s countenance.” I feel both excited and humbled to be part of this tribute to a work that has been such an inspiration to me.

Canticle sculpture, acrylic and Lexan painted with stories of St. Francis, by artist Jo Myers-Walker

The image used for the calendar
(Click image to view larger)

Earlier posts about the sculpture:

Paintings of Assisi:

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Creating in a small space

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Baby grand piano coverted into a colorfully painted desk by artist Jo Myers-Walker

The piano in its new life
as versatile furniture

Earlier this year I was at Northcrest in Ames to teach a watercolor class, then give a presentation using my new friend PowerPoint. This was special for me — I knew many of the class members as we had raised children together, served on committees together — and I wanted to do something healing. Our theme was “Follow the Brush”; swish the brush, and what do you see? We always saw something, not copying but painting memories and what we felt that day. We did warmups with “little gems” of technique — chickens, flowers, butterflies. I gave them a big sheet of paper and it was totally their deal.

I saw a lot of laughter, playing, discovering; some people told me they were going to start painting regularly again. We are all aging, and people have had to give up things to move into smaller spaces. I pointed out that you don’t need a lot of space to create — you can paint a “little gem” on a kitchen countertop. Or, I suggested, maybe on a baby grand piano! When I got it, this piano didn’t work as a musical instrument (after being stood on by a few too many fraternity members). I took the heavy part out, painted the rest, and it has served me well as work surface, display area, and dinner party table.

A smaller space does require organization; I sometimes rediscover “treasures” when building maintenance needs me to move things around!

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Farm to Street Dinner 2024

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Side one of the menu for Iowa City Farm to Street Dinner 2024 with watercolor artwork by artist Jo Myers-Walker

Side 1 of the menu
(Click image to view larger)

Side two of the menu for the 2024 Iowa City Farm to Street Dinner with watercolor artwork by artist Jo Myers-Walker

Side 2 of the menu
(Click image to view larger)

I was asked to paint a border for the menu for this year’s 8th Annual Farm to Street Dinner on August 15 (with diners served at tables set up on North Linn Street), a fundraiser for Veggie Connect, “providing qualified families with shares of fresh produce in an effort to combat chronic illnesses.”

Watercolor street scene of 2024 Farm to Street Dinner on North Linn Street in Iowa City by artist Jo Myers-Walker

The middle of the scene
(Farm to Street Dinner 2024,
North Linn Street, Iowa City)

    From the Farm to Street website: 
    “The event includes a multi-course meal prepared by Iowa City Downtown District chefs with food sourced from local producers. The goal of the Farm to Street Dinner is to bring together members of Iowa City’s diverse, vibrant community to share a table, a story, and a meal, while supporting local food systems.”

It’s a popular event and sold out quickly — see the Iowa City Downtown District’s website and Facebook page for more occasions coming up.

The menu was quite a challenge because I am used to showing the whole painting, not just the edges. I still had to have a good perspective and composition to hold it together — always good to stretch my thinking! I painted it three times before I thought I could submit the work. The originals were auctioned off to benefit Veggie Connect.

I have painted Linn Street many times with a cup of coffee in hand, sitting on the corner, so I know this area. After the menu border was done I painted another version of the dinner, this time with the middle showing!

One of the tables of diners on North Linn Street in Iowa City at the start of the Farm to Street Dinner 2024

With Teresa M. and some of our fellow diners at the Farm to Street Dinner 2024
(Thanks to Krista Burich with Johnson County for the photo!)

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Scenes from Garden Art Fair 2024

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Long line of people on the sidewalk outside Reiman Gardens in Ames, Iowa, ready to attend the 2024 Garden Art Fair

Attendees lined up for the 10 a.m. opening

Watercolor street scene by artist Jo Myers-Walker

Douglas Avenue street scene

Despite the heat, we had a great turnout for this year’s Garden Art Fair at Reiman Gardens in Ames. My booth was right inside the front door, near the auditorium.

Thanks to Jeanette Carson for the event photos, and to all the attendees for stopping by!

After the show I went swimming at Furman Aquatic Center to cool off.

Artist Jo Myers-Walker and assistant Devin setting up her booth for the 2024 Garden Art Fair at Reiman Gardens, Ames, Iowa

Setting up for the Garden Art Fair
with reliable Team JoJo member Devin

Artist Jo Myers-Walker's booth during the 2024 Garden Art Fair at Reiman Gardens, Ames, Iowa

My booth during the event
   

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Painting with a purpose

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Watercolor illustration by Jo Myers-Walker from the book When I See Through My Eyes by author Anne Marie Kraus

We can each use our abilities to make a contribution
(Click image to view larger)

I paint better when the work has meaning, and I enjoyed working with Anne Marie Kraus to illustrate her book “When I See Through My Eyes,” with its message of tolerance and inclusion. Anne Marie agreed to share a few pages from the book here. She also composed music to go with her rhyming text, and the book includes piano-vocal sheet music.

From Anne Marie’s website:

“Four diverse children describe life through their eyes. As they wonder about others who see things differently, a joyful discovery unfolds. Can we find a way to connect with others who have a different way of viewing the world?”

You can find more information — and listen to a recording of the song! — on Anne Marie Kraus’s website.

Watercolor paintings by Jo Myers-Walker illustrate the book When I See Through My Eyes by author Anne Marie Kraus

Some more of my illustrations accompanying Anne Marie’s “story in verse”

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Opening reception Friday, May 3

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Poster for the opening of the show Images of Iowa City at Iowa Artisans Gallery

(Click image to see full-size poster)

Update:  Thank you to everyone who stopped by for the opening, and the show! This exhibit has ended, but you can always find a great variety of work from area artists at Iowa Artisans Gallery.

Friday, May 3, 2024,
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.:

If you’re in town, stop by the opening reception for the show Images of Iowa City, at Iowa Artisans Gallery (downtown Iowa City, IA)!

I plan to be there with some of my paintings for this multi-artist show, with other artists and their work in an array of styles. “Light refreshments will be served alongside works of familiar scenes and landscapes created by Iowa City artists.” The show runs through the end of May.

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Interdisciplinary

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Jo Myers-Walker
Cover of the book When I See Through My Eyes by Ann Marie Kraus featuring watercolor painting by Jo Myers-Walker of child looking through binoculars

(Click image to visit Anne Marie’s website)

It’s fun to see my work used with different disciplines of art!

Music

I was glad to be able to attend the final concert of the season by the talented Iowa City Youth Choir. The program included the song “When I See Through My Eyes,” with music written by Anne Marie Kraus to complement the poetic text of her book of the same name.

While the children were singing, my illustrations for Anne Marie’s “story in verse” appeared on a screen above them.

A partial view of the Iowa City Community Theatre set for the play Significant Other including a watercolor painting by Jo Myers-Walker

A close-up from the set

   
Theater

Earlier this month, the Iowa City Community Theatre used my work on the set for the play “Significant Other.”

They needed paintings for the grandmother Helene, a classy retiree, giving advice to her grandson about the future.

My thanks to the Theatre for these photos!

Views of the set from the Iowa City Community Theatre's production of the play "Significant Other" including paintings by Jo Myers-Walker

Some views of the set for the play “Significant Other”
presented by the Iowa City Community Theatre

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