Celeste Joy paints as one who walks between worlds. Trained through a shaman’s apprenticeship, she carries the wisdom of the seen and unseen into every brushstroke. Her work is an offering to the sacred – honoring the quiet voices of trees, the watchful presence of animal spirits, and the luminous essence of the human soul.

Her journey began in the Bay Area, where she first touched pencil to paper as a child. In her late teens, the tides of life carried her to Charleston, South Carolina, where she studied watercolor at the Gibbs Art Gallery. Surrounded by colorful row houses, secret gardens, and the city’s enduring charm, she learned to capture the spirit of a place as much as its form.

Returning to California in the mid 1980s, she made her home in Napa Valley before settling in the beautiful, charming town of Benicia. Here, the golden light and shimmering waters of the Carquinez Strait have become her daily companions, guiding her creative rhythm.

In recent years, Celeste has turned to oil painting, drawn to its depth and texture. Into these works she places chips of radiant Andara Crystals – each one a vessel of light – infusing her paintings with the vibrational energy of the earth.

Her creative life flows beyond the canvas. As a practitioner of sound healing, Celeste offers regular crystal sound bowl gatherings, creating immersive experiences that weave together vibration, light, and intention. Whether through art or sound, her work becomes a bridge between worlds – a reminder of the beauty and mystery that dwell within us all.

Photo: Elizabeth Denton