Los Angeles artist Joi is using her gift to benefit society

Los Angeles native Joi uses art therapeutically

23 year old Los Angeles native Joi Saulsberry creates beauty from suffering. Primarily a portrait artist who’s explored a number of mediums, she usually works with ball point pen, where she creates three-dimensional forms with a series of scribbled lines. This method is one she adopted as a form of therapy in dealing with depression and anxiety.

She has her associates degree in Studio Art from Santa Monica College and is currently a graduating senior at California State University Monterey Bay, working towards getting a BA in Visual and Public Art, with an emphasis in painting and murals.

She's very passionate about mental health and raising awareness, a lot of the subjects she illustrates are public figures who are open about their own dealings with mental illness. She plans on getting her Masters Degree in Art Therapy, so she can go in to become a registered art therapist, in an effort to work with and help people like herself.

In addition to mental health, her work is often political in content. It ranges from issues of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, to representation and the #FindOurGirls movement. To put it simply, her work advocates for the empowerment of marginalized people.