JoAnn George : Biography
JoAnn George's artwork reflects her life in the Tlingit Indian village of Angoon, Alaska, where she has lived since 1967. Born and raised in New Hampshire, she earned a degree in earth science before moving to Angoon to teach school. In this remote village, she met and married Gabriel George, a fish biologist and sport fishing guide.
JoAnn was introduced into Tlingit culture through her marriage and subsequent life in Angoon, interpreting this knowledge through her artwork. Her original colored-ink drawings, paintings, collages, etchings, and reproductions depict the richness of Tlingit life and legend, as well as views of Southeast Alaska and its abundant wildlife.
"I draw my inspiration from my Tlingit family and Angoon's natural surroundings - a land of intense and powerful beauty. I feel very fortunate to lead a unique lifestyle and also be able to do the work I love".
The mother of two grown children, JoAnn and her husband live in the killer whale clan house on the Angoon waterfront.
Angoon, seventy miles south of Juneau, Alaska, is nestled in the Admiralty Island National Monument and Kootsnoowoo Wilderness. This million-acre island is a bald eagle preserve and home to one of the largest brown bear populations in the world. Between mountain and sea, JoAnn spends her hours hiking, boating and observing, in the forests and inlets of the area, where bears, eagles, whales and other wildlife roam freely as they have for thousands of years.