OwlArt

Clendenins

Mom and Dad Clendenin

Joanna was so special---sometimes I almost felt she was from another world and that it was a bit hard for her to fit into the world she landed in. She would have been happier if she could retreat into the woods with the animals.

5 years old

The photo of her at five yrs. is typical. She usually had an animal or stuffed toy in her arms.

10 years old

She had long pigtails for a number of years and her grandmother called her, her little indian.

As a small child, she was very shy and talked softly, just a little above a whisper.

early drawing

Joanna's drawing talent was apparent when she did this self-portrait just after her third birthday. She had fallen down the basement stairs shortly earlier. The drawing shows not only her early talent for drawing, but also her propensity for accidents!

teenage singer

in high school and college she went through a time of playing her guitar and singing folk songs beautifully.

Joanna was nature's child loving all animals and creatures. She is artistic, musical, dreamer, gentle and kind. She was a joy to raise and watch develop.

Love

Mom & Dad

Pat

Bill

Gail and John

Gail and Jo this picture was taken hiking on the Bruce Trail along Georgian Bay	Gail, Mom and Jo Joanna's sister, Gail, and her Mom Pat, came to visit here in Canada Keppel Croft Gardens, on the Bruce Peninsula
Gail and Jo Life imitates art

Thoughts from Gail:

Joanna has been creative since early childhood. We come by it honestly - Mom sews, quilts, cooks, has painted, did all sorts of needlework, gardens. Dad designed the first home they built, did fine carpentry and woodworking, Joanna and I created imaginary worlds and characters that were as real to us as our own family.

We communicated in codes and Tolkien's Tengwar. We made paper dolls, stuffed dolls and all sorts of crafts. Mom provided us with an endless supply of raw materials and encouraged us to use our imaginations.

Joanna is a gifted musician: pianist, guitarist and singer. We spent many enjoyable hours playing duets on the piano, singing songs in harmony, acting out Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado" with our marionettes.

She is an animal lover and naturalist. She was reading thick nature books at age 6 or 7, tried to revive a frozen mouse by warming it up over a heating vent, was a horsewoman in one of her "lives".

Joanna is an imaginative teacher and has always been able to share her excitement about the world around us with her students. She has never lost her childlike curiosity and wonder, so relates immediately with children.

Here are a couple pictures of costumes Joanna created: we were butterflies one Halloween - the wings are airbrushed cotton on wire frames. Joanna is in the Manatee - chickenwire frame!