Joyce Watkins King is shown pictured with Sir Wolfter Raleigh, her contribution to the Raleigh Red Wolf Ramble. "I didn't think this project would be complete without a tribute to our city's namesake. Of course I had no idea what I was committing to when I made my original proposal to the jury. Since necessity is the mother of invention, I am now quite experienced in sculpting with Bondo, routing sign foam, and attaching toggle bolts to fiberglass."

From an early age Joyce developed a love for the arts and has explored many visual media: photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, metalsmithing, and textiles to name a few. She also has a deep love of the performing arts and served as the Development Officer for the Visual and Performing Arts at NC State University for seven years. During that time she served on several National Endowment for the Arts grant review panels and she was the recipient of a NC Regional Artists Grant in 1997. In addition to her B.A. Degree in Environmental Design in Visual Design/ Product Design she also holds an M.S. Degree in Management, also from NC State. Joyce has also taken courses at Penland School in metalsmithing, photojournalism, and printmaking.

Joyce has served on the Governor's Business Council on the Arts since 1999 and is also a member of the NC State Gallery of Art and Design Advisory Board. She is currently serving as the Director of Marketing and Development for Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. In her "free" time, Joyce continues to explore black and white photography, painting, and drawing. Over the last seven years she has had five solo shows in North Carolina and participated in numerous local and regional juried group shows. Her work is represented in many private, corporate, and institutional collections in the area.

"In most cases, I develop my paintings and drawings from photographs I have taken in and around Raleigh, images from my everyday environment. I also enjoy taking photographs during my travels, most recently in Italy and London. I enjoy composing paintings through the lens of the camera and then bringing them to life on canvas or paper. I particularly like to explore beautiful and/or unusual things 'in my own back yard.' When I lived at the Cotton Mill condominiums in Raleigh, I enjoyed exploring the trains and the tracks just behind my condo and Logan Trading Company, currently occupying the converted old train station. Though not a big fan of trains prior to that time, I gradually became enamored with them--the colors, the graffiti, and their mechanisms. I enjoyed exploring everything from abstract images of weathered paint, to the workings of the track switches, to the intriguing architecture of the old station. I came to enjoy the musicality of the train whistles and take comfort in their regularity, even the midnight run."

"I like to explore unusual viewpoints in my work, looking over someone's shoulder, or through the eyes of a child. My interest in exploring and framing unique viewpoints probably springs from my training as a graphic designer. It is not unusual for me to have a headless body in my paintings because I've chosen something else to be the focus within the frame. I explore these same principles in my black and white photographs. I am attracted to strong black and white images and those filled with intense color."

"In addition to the images I am drawn to paint or photograph, I enjoy doing commissioned work-working with clients to develop an image that is meaningful to them and at the same time visually interesting and challenging to me. Sometimes these explorations turn out to be the most satisfying for me. It is a joy to bring to life something that someone has a strong attachment to--the memory of a special place or a special event." To view any of these works firsthand or discuss a commission, please contact Joyce at jwking4@nc.rr.com.