We really enjoyed reading Jo Jayson’s interview and we’re sure you will, too. Jo lives in Westchester County in New York State with her two children.Jo’s story is a fascinating read and as you can see she is an extremely talented artist. No doubt you will be intrigued to stop into her shop on Zibbet Jo Jayson Art to do some shopping. As you browse her shop, enjoy reading the informative text that goes with her paintings.Please enjoy the interview, leave Jo a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love!
I’m a Single Mother, living in Westchester, New York with my two beautiful children and two cats. Originally from the UK, I always painted and drew from a very early age. I studied Fine Art and then had a moment of madness for 2 years where I found myself in Media and Advertising. Finally I saw sense, and went on to become a professional Muralist and Decorative Painter for 15 years.I moved from London to Sydney and then to New York, where I have now lived for 12 years, and since become a citizen. During the break down of my marriage, I began working on my own personal paintings. I focused closely with healing myself emotionally and studied the body’s chakras and explored many different variety of Energy Work and modalities. I knew I wanted to heal and teach in some way, and in time, all the knowledge and wisdom I had collected, manifested into my first series of paintings calledThe Essence of Color – The Goddess Chakra Paintings.From these paintings, I was inspired to create products to help others connect with their OWN power, beauty and healing, through the awareness of color and chakra energy centers in the body.From an early age I was always very connected to the myths, legends and literature of the Ancient Gods, and Goddesses, Old Folk Tales and Pagan and Celtic rituals and practices. As my work has developed, I have become more and more connected with the Divine Feminine – The Goddess – The Feminine energy that has been missing from this planet for so many centuries and is now making its way back into our culture again, finally. I love my work and nothing gives me more pleasure and more satisfaction than to channel this incredibly powerful and beautiful energy and wisdom, and manifest it into a painting, a silk scarf, a beautiful candle or a meditation kit.I am finally living my purpose and am truly grateful, and hope that my work now and in the future can continue to inspire, heal and empower all those who look upon it.
If I am not painting in my studio, I am teaching - mainly Women and Children, sometimes Men..but mostly Women and Children are drawn to my workshops or classes. I run two Women’s meditation circles and I now teach workshops on the Chakras, Manifestation and the Goddess and try and use my creative work to empower and to teach others how to re-remember their own power and healing abilities. As a single mother of two teenagers, I rarely have time to myself, and most waking hours are taken up, painting, teaching or working on marketing the business. Since my divorce, I have spent a lot of time focusing on myself and my kids, and am dedicated to creating a stable and solid foundation for all three of us. As of late, my work is my main focus, but I’m hoping in time when the business starts to have its own momentum that I will be able to take a little more of a back seat and concentrate more on the painting and time with the kids…..looking forward to that 
As a child I was always fascinated by anything magical or unseen…..I lived very much in my own imagination, and had a very strong sense of connection to Spirit from a very early age. I would be entranced with the Fairies and with magical ethereal stories and books. As I grew up, I had a great calling to the Ancient Myths, The Faery, Pre-Raphaelite paintings and traditions….and felt more at home with the magical stories of those kind of archtypes and rituals…than any formal religion. As an adult, I became extremely connected to the Divine Feminine Energy….the female side of the Divine, of nature and of the Universe….It became clear to me that it had been missing in so much of life and religion, for centuries…and I felt compelled to bring it forth and speak its truth. This is the driving force of my work, and is what brings me back to center in everything that I do. It is where I feel at home….and now with a huge influx of Divine Feminine influence in the Media, Arts and Culture in general, I know my timing for my work is perfectly in order….and I’m excited about seeing where it takes me.
Well I have artists who inspire me..The Pre-Raphaelites, Klimt, Chagall….and Lucien Freud was a great influence on me in the way I taught myself to paint the human body. As for Role models….I am usually drawn to those women in History that have shown incredible strength while being challenged, shown loyalty and honesty, and followed their hearts. I tend to look to literature and legends to find my muse and inspiration…but there are many present day women who show this kind of inspiration and strength that I would say, call me to be the best that I can be. Oprah is a perfect example of a modern day Goddess….love her or hate her….she embodies these characteristics of strength and pure heart….but she is also extremely human….which makes her even more inspiring. However there are many Women showing themselves in modern day to be like the Women of the Ancients…, Women are becoming more of who they were meant to be, each and every day. 
Being in nature is a huge passion of mine….my next best thing to painting, is to be in the woods…or on the hills. I love being outside, I walk frequently and often take myself off to the woods to clear my head and gather my thoughts. There is nothing more healing for me to be around nature and flowers and rolling hills and meadows…..it is something I yearn for often. I miss the English Countryside a lot…and whenever I see photos of it, become very homesick, so I try and get myself out as much as I can to the countryside, to subside the yearning . My other passions are my kids…I don’t sadly spend enough fun time with them, because I am so focused on building up my business and our future….but when I do…I love it…and miss the simplicity of when they were young and I had more time. Lastly I would say spending time with my dear friends, of whom I’m blessed to have in my life and have been such a support for me over the years…I have the best Girlfriends 
I love the simplicity of Zibbet….I’m not very technical….but I never had any problems with Zibbet, they made it so easy and organized….I actually loved setting my store up. Everyone is really supportive on Zibbet also, the staff and the other store owners. There is a lovely sense of community within it, and I wish I had more time to explore other people’s store fronts and get to know people better. I would recommend Zibbet to any Artist or Artisan….It’s been so helpful for me to set up a space to sell my work, and to show it so beautifully.Truly I’m really looking forward to having the link to Facebook. I spend a lot of my time working on Facebook and generating business there, so it would be wonderful when we can just click ” Zibbet Store” on our business page and allow the customer to make a purchase without having to go around the houses., .apart from that, I haven’t come across anything really that I would change or need differently.I promote mostly on Facebook, but I also do a lot of retail shows around the country so a lot of the traffic on my Zibbet store front can come from people who have bought from me at shows, and want to buy again, or for those who I have met and sent them to my website and then they have purchased that way. My workshops and classes are also a great way to promote my products and I get a lot of follow up customers that way too, and I also advertise in a few magazines. I recently set up a monthly newsletter for my email list which Im hoping is also going to allow more people to know what im doing, the latest events and the latest products and offers. I’m not a frantic promoter, but I do what I can with the means and time that I have. We can always do more than we are currently doing….just need more hours in the day 
I think the best way to get the most out of anything is to research and look through as much as you can all the support links, the community pages, the advice in the Zibbet Newsletters. Ultimately it is up to you how much you use Zibbet and how you wish to promote yourself on it….it’s a personal thing I would imagine….Everyone does things at their own pace and with their own goals in mind.ummm……in the future I’d like to be ..able to go away on a long trip, leave the business in someone else’s capable hands, knowing the money is flowing in…the products are flowing out….all is well with the business bank account and that my work, whether it be a painting, a greeting card, candle, scarf, or meditation kit…is healing, inspiring and empowering someone somewhere, anywhere. A simple dream I think xTags: Featured Zibbeters, Jo Jayson Art
