joan@pikaworks.com                             www.pikaworks.com

   Joan MacKenzie, A self-taught artist, loves animals and color.  She has spent many happy hours photographing pikas in their mountain homes, moose in the woods, and zebras and giraffes at the zoo.  Back at home, she captures their personalities with watercolors or acrylics.  Bright colors are used in unusual ways to jazz up the animals, or to enhance their habitats.

    In 1998 she created Pika Works, a line of greeting cards starring the pikas, their wild neighbors, and other animals as they spark her imagination.

  In April 2001 she encountered a moose and her yearling daughter in the woods near Mt. Mansfield as the snow slowly melted.  Molly and Dolly Moose star in a series of popular paintings (visit www.pikaworks.com for the moose story)

   Joan considers the animals to be long lasting characters and friends.  She prefers to show them in many formats, and make each one available to as many people as possible.  Her collection includes framed and unframed prints, greeting cards, mouse pads, bookmarks, magnets and photos.  Since moving into a bigger studio space in 2006, she has started to do larger acrylic paintings on canvas. 

   Joan's work can be seen at the Lazy Pear Gallery in Montpelier, Art on Main in Bristol, and the Blue Paddle Bistro in So. Hero.  Each year she exhibits at about a dozen art and craft shows in the Vermont region.