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Joan is an accomplished artist who received her Fine Arts Degree at Ohio Wesleyan University. Upon graduation she moved to New York City where she painted large photo-realist canvasses using images of reflective objects. Her work was shown in galleries throughout Soho.
She went to Saba for a scuba diving vacation and quickly fell in love with the island. On an island with only 1,000 inhabitants, Bourque was soon known and befriended by the children. They showed her the entire island, trail by trail, and she in turn taught them to swim. She bought them masks and snorkels and they taught each other about the sea. For those unwilling or unable to accompany Joan and the children on their expeditions, she gave slide shows of life under the sea at the local island hangout in the evenings.
Bourque also taught art in the schools. She was now primarily using water colors for her artwork. "Seeing nature through the children’s eyes changed what I saw, and how I painted, says Bourque.
Bourque met her husband, Lou, on the island and they traveled extensively to the many neighboring islands, diving and learning more about the diverse West Indian cultures. Joan contributed photographs and articles to “Ocean Realm” and “Caribbean Travel and Life” magazines.
One of their trips took her to Lighthouse Reef, the farthest atoll off Belize in Central America. It was there that she dove with a lone wild dolphin who frequented the lagoon waters near Lighthouse Reef Resort. A year later, she returned with Lou and their six-year-old daughter, Alyssa, to swim with the dolphin and to volunteer their time with Oceanic Expedition's research. Not only did the Bourques learn about the giant mammals, they became aware of the tragic mass endangerment of so many ocean animals.
Bourque wrote and published Dreams of Dolphins Dancing to inform, entertain and inspire young people to discover their own personal way of understanding and living within all environments. With her books in hand, Joan visits schools for day or week-long programs which include art projects and educational classroom activities. She is currently on the Residency Roster of the Arizona Commission on the Arts for mural painting. Her Ocean Week Program was originally funded by Project Aware.
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