Joan A. de Bruin

AUTHOR’S PAGE Joan A. de Bruin’s fiction is based on "The Hero’s Journey," Joseph Campbell’s archetypal mythic structure. This structure was chosen to carry the younger and older reader through each character’s quest. Joan's writing integrates artistic expression into human experience through story. These stories are not sugar-coated fairy tales but Grimm’s “learning” fairy tales. She felt this form would be the most familiar and helpful for families working through the social and familial issues found in her books. To tell a learning story through fantasy, Joan interweaves and twins those elements that contain our similarities and differences. Together, these attributes create a living bridge, opening the door to a deeper understanding and respect for each person’s humanity and individuality which, in turn, consciously affects his or her choices. "Losing David; A Healing Journey"©2017 (formerly titled "The Christmas Tree Angel") is dedicated to children who have lost siblings and friends through illness, tragedy, or unexpected death, a communal experience for parents, relatives, teachers, adults and young readers to help them cope with the loss of a loved one. The story takes a young girl on a unique healing journey through a magical forest and back into the arms of her loving family. "Yoda, the Daring, Dauntless, Darling Cat" ©2014, is a real-to-life cat with a learning disability and her disarming adventure with a Cat Whisperer. David and Yoda are available online. David and Yoda were published by Mediacs.com under the auspices of well-known author and publicist, Jim Bergman. Upcoming books:"Rosebud; The Cat Who Lost Her Nine Lives" ©2017, a fantasy story about the possible ramifications of bullying (TBP 2018); "Rosebud" was written and illustrated by Joan A. de Bruin and Douglas R. Decker."Clyde Upside-Down Penbourne or The Fall of a Hero," a story about a boy and his heroes (TBP 2020). On the prose front, Joan A. de Bruin worked in collaboration with Dr. Victoria Ibric to create "The ROSHI Anthology." She also interviewed, wrote and edited client stories for Ibric’s upcoming book, "Singing in the Brain; Success Stories from the Private Files of a Neurofeedback Therapist." Joan A. de Bruin has a BA in Art Education and MA in Fine Art from the University of California at Long Beach. She is the former Director of the Los Angeles Craft & Folk Art Museum, City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, where her museum exhibitions, programs and special events have received recognition nationally and internationally. Adolfo V. Nodal, General Manager (ret.) writes, “I have found her [Joan] to be one of my most creative and visionary Director’s. She has also been recognized by scholars, organizations and artists for her production of the first national folk and traditional arts conference in Los Angeles.” A twenty-year veteran of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs department, Joan A. de Bruin has directed three Cultural Arts Facilities, The Folk & Traditional Arts Division, Public Percent for the Arts, and Arts Partners. Joan’s development of specialized educational programming for children, teens, and teachers has been highly recognized for their innovative approaches. Claire N. Issacs, Director (ret.), Cultural Affairs, San Francisco Arts Commission, City and County of San Francisco, writes, “She [Joan] is a first-rate teacher to both elementary and secondary students…teachers workshops were much in demand.” She taught classroom projects throughout the Los Angeles and Orange County Unified School Districts (International Child Art Collection). Independently, Joan created, developed and taught a bi-lingual arts-integrated education program for the San Gabriel Valley School District. she has also taught and lectured at Southern California colleges, universities (i.e., University of California, Long Beach) and private schools. She is the Founder of Creative Art Bridges (CAB) for art, writing and education. Under the auspices of CAB she founded artbridgesgallery.com, an online gallery site for artists at the peak of their careers. In the art world, Joan A. de Bruin exhibited primarily in California, including the Downey Museum of Art, Charles Bowers Museum of Art, California State University, Long Beach; California Governor’s offices. Her work is found in private West and East Coast collections and Beijing, China. Her many-faceted career includes working with New York artist Red Grooms on his Egyptian sculpto-pictorama, and education programs with artists, Christo, Luis Jimenez, David Hockney, and Frank Gehry, architect.