Jo Farris began her formal education at the Mississippi State College for Women painting in the realist tradition. Her studies continued at the University of South Alabama which offered her a firm understanding of abstraction. It is the marriage of these two traditions which give her current paintings an edginess with rhythm and movement--an authenticity without explicit definition. "Noam Chomsky states, 'A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in a language.' Where other people use words to express their emotions, I use paint. I continue to explore many materials to extend the possibilities of making my art through my process. I have painted for almost a half century. It is not a consciousness of emotion that drives my work but the work itself." Farris has been most gratified by the relationships that she has developed through art. A long distant close friend has fresh eyes and ready analysis. She has a brilliant group of artists who gather monthly and two granddaughters who have dedicated their careers to art.