THE life of Tenby resident Joy Wheeler-Phillips has been punctuated by fortunate coincidences, connections and opportunities that have led to her unusual training, experience and expression in various art forms. The result of her work in 2001-2 is to be seen in her current exhibition at Art Matters in Tenby.
Despite her early interest and talent, Joy's desire to take art training was vetoed.
"It was decided that I had obtained quite enough education for a girl," Joy said, and she left school to find employment. Her art teacher persuaded Nick Spargo, cartoon film maker to take her on - a position she kept for three years until a slump in film making made her services redundant.
She modelled for the photographer Gilbert Adams and attended art classes in Reading at that time while also undertaking mural commissions. The chain of events that followed included a huge underwater scene (mural), work at a gallery in Oxfordshire, meeting with sculptor Anthony Southwell and his wife and helping with their pottery classes.
With the Southwells' encouragement, Joy was accepted, a talented novice amongst experienced potters, for the Harrow ceramics course, and was awarded the Harrow Prize in her year. David Leach was involved with the course and she worked alongside him, throwing pots and making tiles at his pottery on the edge of Dartmoor during holidays. A bursary from the Gwen Mullins Trust was offered to Joy and she also won a competition to design a 3-D mural for Harrow library.
After a short time in Spain, living in a cave - "everyone was doing it" - Joy worked at Dartington Pottery before setting up her own pottery with partner Douglas Phillips. Using local clay and a huge oil-fired kiln, they produced domestic stoneware, taught part time, and Joy exhibited and sold her large landscapes at Gallery 24 at Shaftesbury.
"However, life changed in 1970 when I inadvertently produced twin sons," explained Joy. "Relegated to the kitchen, servicing our summer pottery courses, whilst my partner taught" contributed to the partnership breaking up and the start of a new life in Mid-Wales.
Some years making pots in Llandewi Brefi and painting for shows in Shaftesbury followed before she moved again to Shropshire where she lived for 14 years. Here she painted landscape and architecture and had an annual show at the Silk Top Hat Gallery in Ludlow.
In 1996 Joy move to Tenby with her youngest son, now at university, and has refound the freedom to work or walk or garden when not painting.
Working in her sky-lighted studio and accompanied by loud music, Joy has produced 35 paintings for this, her first solo exhibition in Wales. Her work draws on her expertise in other crafts: some textures are achieved by use of marks like embroidery stitches, or have patterned borders, others resemble mosaics.
Joy's paintings are colourful, quirky and clever. Unusual views across Tenby rooftops offer unexpected glimpses of familiar places, repeating patterns appear in landscapes, buildings and domestic still lifes. Her view is strong, definite and unusual.
Her exhibition, 'Alternative View', mostly comprising oil paintings, can be seen at Art Matters, South Parade, Tenby until June 28, Monday to Saturday, from 10 am to 5 pm. For further information, telephone (01834) 843375.