Jo Ford

Lives and works in Bellingham, WA, USA

Artist statement

When I was three I won a first-place prize for a painting entitled "Snake in the Fireplace" from the San Francisco Chronicle, (a picture of my work in the paper and a story-book key to the S.F. Zoo). I have been doing art ever since. My paintings have always contained beings and creatures in relationship with one another. They exist in a world where trust is natural, where tenderness is possible, where joy is shared, and where every living thing belongs. For many years I didn't understand why I kept returning to this world. I simply knew I needed to paint it. Only later did I recognize that these paintings were creating the opposite of the world I had known. I grew up in an alcoholic family; although my parents were basically good people, shame, instability, and the absence of emotional support shaped my earliest understanding of relationships. As a young teenager, I was raped. The isolation and lack of care (I never told anyone but there were obvious signs) that followed left me profoundly disconnected from other people. I stopped going to school and spent long days wandering alone through the hills and forests, finding in nature a sense of presence and acceptance that I could not find elsewhere. Being accepted into the San Francisco Art Institute was one of the first great accomplishments of my life. Sadly, I encountered sexual misconduct from several staff members; that, and the theft of one of my strongest paintings reopened wounds of violation, shame, and...

Artwork