by Jim Gerwing

Joyce Jason is another one of those distinguished artists living in James Bay about whom most residents know very little.

Joyce came here some seven years ago from Montreal, with her first visit coincidentally on Montreal Street overlooking the Inner Harbor. Fascinated by the climate and the atmosphere of Victoria, she lined up several workshops, took a leave of absence from her teaching job in Montreal, and has never regretted her bold step out west.

Besides being an accomplished artist, working in many different media, Ms. Jason is also a trained art therapist, a family and marriage counselor, and film maker.

Brought up in what she considers the provincialism of Montreal and Canada, she launched out into the broader world of the United States during the complex years of the 1960’s. That was the time of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, opposition to the war in Vietnam, and the wild world of the Chicago Seven during the Democratic National Convention. She believes these eye-opening experiences developed in her a social conscience.

She studied ceramics in Florida and film in California. She had taken a summer institute with the National Film Board. This and her studies in California enabled her to make films on the lives and work of two Canadian artists, Rita Letendre, an abstract artist of Montreal, and Hugh Leroy, a sculptor and painter.

Joyce Jason believes it was a real-life miracle that she found her apartment on Douglas Street overlooking Beacon Hill Park. She tends to be something of a loner, preferring to set herself up in isolation where no one can interfere with her work. “James Bay is an absolutely fantastic location for artists,” she told me.

Her work includes deeply contemplative sky meditations, photography, collages, and simple black and white images. She deems her art “more spiritual than political.”

However, she is anything but indifferent to social issues. She desperately wants to see fairness and justice in the world, and has been active in advocating for affordable housing at public meetings in Victoria.

The Beacon offices are privileged to be able to hang some of her work during the months of September and October. Visit the office during our regular hours and have a look.