Featured Artist of the Month

                                                         January 2006

Jo Anne Ruzzi

Email: neonattwilite@msn.com

Biography:
Jo Anne began creating from a very young age.  As a child she wrote poetry accompanied by her illustrative drawings.  In grade 2 her painting of a lonely puppy was chosen for the A.S.P.C.A. poster and her multi-media collage depicting the early history of man made its way to a museum showing.  Teen years were spent drawing, sculpting, designing fashion & fashion accessories and learning the art of make-up.  For the next ten years she worked in the make-up industry for many major cosmetic companies which lead to teaching professional make-up techniques including TV. and Theatrical Make-up in her Cecil B. Studios Workshops.  In the 80's JoAnne started designing jewelry. Today she creates paintings and sculpture for birthstone jewelry lines.  She also creates jewelry lines to accompany museum exhibitions.   Her "Neon 'n' Nature landscape paintings and the the "Neon at Twilite" abstract paintings and their jewelry lines were created specifically for the 2001 Chihuly exhibition at the Las Vegas Art Museum.   These original art pieces seem to light up due to JoAnne's unique technical process and mastery of color and light.   They are made with powder pigment and chemical on glass.  This 10 step process includes melting, fusing, hand painting and bonding in order to create the vibrant colors and light.  The end result melds Nevada's neon lights with the surrounding desert landscapes.  Jo Anne's latest love is Art Clay.  This was just the medium she needed to create her art and jewelry.  How timely.  Jo Anne uses Art Clay with stone, glass, canvas or in just about any other medium she works in.  It is the perfect accent to any piece of art.