About Jo Storey |
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“There is no other way to say it; I simply enjoy the process of creating. I think for me it has always been about discovering something new and then capturing it for others to enjoy. I do like my finished art work, but I love the process of making of it most. From developing the idea, to seeing if I can make the outcome match my mind’s eye - I love the whole process. Another person actually enjoying my art, when it is finished, is just a wonderful side benefit. I think I would create even if no one liked my artwork.” ~ Jo Storey Art has always been a part of Jo
Storey's life, but was not the focus for many years. Like so many
people, she took the "safe" route and graduated from college with a
Business Administration & Marketing degree from Western Washington
University.
Although Jo loved her business
career and the people she met, there was always something missing.
During an executive leadership training course at Leader Source in
Minneapolis, Jo was told that she should find an outlet for her
over-flowing creativity.
During this time, she was
befriended by many wonderful artists that you see on our site today.
Upon learning her background these new friends began to seek out
assistance for marketing their own art work. When it was announced that the location that Giverny was located in was for Sale, Jo helped to form a group of artists to start their own school, gallery and studios. In 2006, Savage Art Studios was formed and the rest is history, as they say. SAS is located in the HAMILTON District of old downtown Savage along the Minnesota River. The group hosts various art shows in their gallery and is home to the Savage Arts Council too. Jo serves as Director of the organization but is just one of the various partner's that support SAS. Jo loves her new life of as a marketing-artist & Mom. "I can't imagine ever going back to the corporate world." She said, "Life is simply too rewarding now." To contact Jo email her at: jo@SavageArtStudios.com or call SAS at: 952.895.0375
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In
1982, Jo entered the corporate world of communications, later moved to
health services and finally Internet Services. Her promotions and career
moves required relocation for her from Washington (state) to Hawaii to
Oregon to Pennsylvania and finally to her husband's home state of
Minnesota, where the couple lives today.
She
was already a self-taught artist and oil painter but had drifted in &
out of her art over the years. So in 1999 she decided to try an art course at the Minnesota River School of Fine Arts. After being
re-united with her art, there was no turning back to the boardroom.
Soon Jo and her husband, Jeff, began to reprioritize their lives so that
she could attend art school full time and be at home after school with
their son Tyler. As her studies progressed in 2002, Jo took a studio at
Minnesota River School of Fine Art where she began to paint
independently full time and attend workshops to continue her art
education. 
"I found that everyone seems to financially gain from an artist's
work, except the artist." said Storey, "So I decided to try to
apply my former life's skills to my new world." At first it was
just to advise artists on marketing opportunities but soon it began
taking more time and Jo opened Giverny Marketing/Studio in 2003 to help
a very small, select group of traditional artists find new venues to
sell their artwork.