Joyce Wycoff, curious student of life

Spirit-born of raven (attracted by all things bright and shiny). 

Some say I’m a rolling stone … I think I’ve just been spinning through the multitudes of possibilities. I’ve called over 50 places home, (including two-years in Mexico), lived a former life as an accountant, written books, founded an international conference on innovation and creativity, learned digital art, and now joyfully make shorter-than-short-run books that combine stories and images. 

Someday, it would be nice to combine the joy of writing and making art with a stream of income. Who knows, miracles do happen … and I am seriously practicing gratitude which facilitates miracles, sometimes even the money kind. 

My main struggle is holding onto my rose-colored glasses in the midst of a pandemic, climate crisis, political insanity, and the California real estate market. 

Life in an RV in the mountains east of San Diego has calmed the last of those challenges, still trying to figure out what to do about the others.

The most amazing, and unexpected, gift of my life has been creativity. While it nibbled at the edges of my 20s and 30s, it didn't pound at the door until I was in my 50s. Now it is my bedrock.

My backstory began as an only child surrounded by scrub oak woods. Now, divorced, widowed, single, with two step-daughters and two almost-adult granddaughters, I find myself yearning for community, especially women who have “been there” and like to tell their stories. 

I crave stories more than chocolate.

Here's a tiny story with the image it birthed:

When I lived on Lake Chapala in Ajijic, Mexico, a friend and I visited the small Pueblo Mágico of Jiquilpan. One night we walked back to our hotel on Calle Arteaga, named for a general although all I saw was the "art" part. The photo continued to call to me and, eventually, became a street gallery of modern artists. There are about 15 different artists represented in this image.

Calle Arteaga