Joan Willies has been painting and studying Miniatures since the age of eleven, and is a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers of London, England, the oldest professional society of miniaturists in the world. She is also a member of an elected group of miniaturists, Miniature Artists of America. Other memberships include the Miniature Art Society of Florida (honorary member) and the Washington Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, the oldest miniature society in the United States.