JoAnn was born and raised in New York City, a happy member of a big Italian-American family. Her favorite place to explore as a child was her Pop's garden.  Under the peach tree grew a bathtub; next to the chicken coupe, a pile of porcelain sinks took root. The grapevine trellis was constructed with a network or rusty pipes that supported the weight of lush purple grapes while hundreds of leaves merged to form a cool umbrella.  JoAnn played amidst this collage of nature and objects.  As an artist, she calls upon the interplay of those surroundings to guide her to surprising artistic representations of our complex, beautiful world. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology 1983-1987 and the Art Academy of Munich 1983-1987. JoAnn has written and illustrated over 40 books for children. She now writes and illustrates under the pen name Josie James.  She also creates collages, paintings as well as digital collages and paintings for art shows and galleries.  JoAnn also works as a floral designer with Illume Floral, and supplies greens and flowers to floral designers through her budding business Wild Greens in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She loves to dance, play the drums, travel, and happily cooks the recipes or her ancestors for family and friends.  She speaks fluent German and a bit of Italian. JoAnn has two beautiful children and a very silly dog named Enzo. Her beloved husband, Karsten, died in 2020.