“I always find a nonprofit that overlaps with the theme of a series of paintings,” says Joyce, who started the donations in 2011.
Joyce lives in Concord, N.C., and she started the series last summer. It included 14 paintings of women with hourglasses. The series was done on cradled wood that was topped with handmade paper to represent the layered lives of Joyce’s subjects. She used acrylic and oil paints.
“My relationship with time was there was never enough,” says Joyce, who thought about how women often juggle work and responsibilities associated with being mothers and caregivers.
She finished the series as much of the world came to a halt because of COVID-19 and it was time to select a nonprofit for donations.
Joyce hosted a virtual show through social media to discuss the series and her plans to donate to Direct Relief.
“People that I knew and didn’t know reached out and said, ‘I always wanted a piece of yours, and this makes me feel like I’m not just consuming,’” says Joyce of how people got behind the opportunity to help Direct Relief. “It is validating and gives me hope that people want something in life that inspires them and gives them joy,” says Joyce.
by Dudley Brown and Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89