When docking the ferry in Port aux Basques, it would be a shame to head straight to the boat. This small town surrounded by the ocean and mountains not only has breathtaking views but also has a flourishing art scene that deserves time and consideration.
Artists JoAnn Goosney and Miranda Hardy are an unexpected dynamic duo who are bringing the art community on the West Coast to life.
“First of all, there is a 30 year age difference between myself and Miranda. I am like a bonus art mom. We actually only live about six houses apart, but we only met last summer,” said JoAnn. “Eventually she did one of my art nights but it took awhile for us to get together. She came to buy one of my books, and we just clicked. We had so much in common. We connected at craft shows and markets and started bouncing ideas off one another. The more you talk, the more you grow.”
Since then the two artists have come together to sell their work, share their knowledge and start a podcast called Shed Talk where they interview local artists.
“Everybody has creativity in their life in some way. It’s lovely talking to people and to be inspired by these people. Shed Talk is new to us and we have three videos on YouTube and people are starting to approach us and it’s growing,” explained JoAnn.
“It’s inspiring to be around people that are making things. There’s a lot of variety here. There’s really nobody stepping on anyone’s toes and the styles of art are pretty unique. We all have a common interest and that alone is inspiring. The passion in those types of people is so enjoyable. It’s really fun and exciting to be with them,” said Miranda.
Both women have a different but wonderful background in art. Miranda started deeply pursuing painting about three years ago, though she has always been interested in the craft.
“It became who I am now and I embraced it, I think it was always there. I took a liking to making things with driftwood, that’s the name of my business Driftwood Dreams” she said. “My husband is a fisherman, he has taken me around for driftwood and I have quite the inventory of it. Lobster bobbles, lobster traps, sea glass and all the things you can find. A lot of my art is inspired by Newfoundland, especially the fishing scene.”

Miranda had made a small piece of driftwood art and posted it on her Facebook and it started a spark. Her friends and family asked her to make more and overnight Driftwood Dreams was born. The demand got bigger and bigger, and now Miranda’s pieces can be found on t-shirts, bags, pillows—everything.
JoAnn’s career started long before her fellow podcaster and her art journey started at a young age. She was inspired by her father, who painted with oils, and her grandmother, who did paint on fabric and rug hooking.
“From a young age, I sketched. As long as I had a piece of paper and pencil, I was happy. In the 80s I explored acrylic painting and I really enjoyed it. I found a teacher in Pasadena named Clarence Osmond, he does beautiful work on his own and he started teaching in his home. It was a group and I enjoyed that camaraderie. I enjoyed the work and eventually someone told me to sell my work. I did a lot of wildlife work and realism, and I did sell pieces. I have pieces in England, Scotland, and different places but that work took a lot of time. A lot went into them,” explained JoAnn. “So then I wanted to explore the decorative side of painting, which is a bit more whimsical. I also started painting on glass, explored that and did it for a few years.”

JoAnn sold her glass art at quite a few shows, including the Glacier in St. John’s and worked all across Newfoundland. Whatever material she could paint on, she did and then she sold it.
Both artists are self taught and ever growing. They play with mediums and materials, and learn from others along the way.
“We both like to explore techniques, but we want it to be original to the work we do. We want to create our own artwork,” said JoAnn.
Both women worked on monumental pieces that had large significance in the community. Miranda had started making these driftwood replicas of stages found along the coast. After the Fiona hurricane, some of the stages Miranda had created, were now destroyed in the storm.
“One of the pieces that stands out is the Caines stage, and the guy who owns it was on CBC news holding my artwork stating it was all he had left after the storm.”

One of JoAnn’s local accomplishments was a stained glass window in a church in Isle aux Morts. She designed three panes that were combined into one at the end.
“Isle aux Morts has a history of shipwrecks. A particular one is the ship named Despatch that came from Ireland, with over 200 people shipwrecked. A family was fishing near the scene, they rode out in boat with their Newfoundland dog, and save them. A young girl named Anne Harvey was influential in saving these people. She is very revered here on the coast. So the stain glass window featured Jesus putting a blessing over the rescue and Anne reaching out to the people.”
The design was accepted and shipped to St. John’s to be put into the church window, but when it came back, they had changed Anne to a man.
“I wrote them and said I loved the colours, but Anne Harvey is lost, she was a 17-year-old girl who was vital to this rescue, and she had been lost. Luckily, they changed the design back, and it stands that way in the church in Isle aux Morts today.”
Throughout her career, JoAnn had a point when her life took a change and she stopped working with art, but life eventually guided her back to her passion. She was working at Marble Mountain when two of the managers were artists and members of LAWN, League of Artists of Western Newfoundland. They inspired JoAnn to start art back up again.

“We started what we called Art Mondays. We would work on things over the weekend and bring it that Monday, do a little coffee blurb and discuss art. I am thankful to them for putting me back in that space again. It spiralled to where I am today.”
JoAnn’s art is also Newfoundland inspired from quilts on a line to fresh blueberries being picked, but she will explore outside her boundaries.
JoAnn starting teaching a paint night in 2017 which started off small and has been growing ever since.
“I love seeing the artists emerge. Some want to just have fun and others want to learn more. They are all really excited when they finish a piece.”
One of the things JoAnn and Miranda started together is Southwest Coast Arts and Crafted, which connects artists in the area. It started as a Facebook page, and then they came together to have a meeting. They engaged all the municipalities in the Southwest Coast to discuss the growth of communities for artists, makers, and crafters.
“From that meeting we had our first market at the train site and are planning to have one every month here. Clearly we are onto something because each market had as many people signed up as we could fit in there. We were able to network and collaborate with those people and grow relationships and inspire one another,” said Miranda.
They called the meeting Let’s Talk About It because they simply wanted folks to have a chat about the art community and how to support one another on the Southwest Coast. And that’s where the idea for their podcast bloomed: to talk with other artists, learn from them and hear their stories.
“We feel we grow better and bigger together. We have this vibe here that is hidden, it’s not obvious. We know a lot of the artists we have connected with do beautiful work, and lots of people who love to be around art. It’s here and we have to peel the curtains back,” said Miranda. “There is an art in everything.”
You can find Miranda’s artwork here.
You can find JoAnn’s artwork here.
Check out their podcast: Shed Talk.
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