Life is complex and seemingly turbulent when viewed from the surface, as is my studio  with a myriad of varied materials strewn about, waiting to be integrated into something simple, yet deep and harmonious.  Art mirrors life,…, therefore I must dive deeper and use the sixth sense the creative process demands.  As connected as the conversation and relationship that I have with the  artistic process, it is not enough to communicate with the spoken word. I am loaded with knowledge about value, design, color mixing, textures and techniques  but these are only handmaidens to the underlying call of something, anything, to be made into form.  I must embody my curious, authentic and intuitive self, and say “Yes”, every day to whatever calls me to lend a hand and heart to its hunger to be.

 And I’m all in.

There is paint, collage images, textures, found objects, stone, clay, plaster and varied tools; all a scavenger hunt of possibilities of what and how to be used for our deep dive. At some point after placing color, value, images on the surface of the painting or after choosing the substrate and materials for a sculpture, I hear its voice, a bit muted at first, but its there, whispering somewhere in the piece. It is then that I pause and ask, “What is it? What do you need?” . . . “Oh, okay,”  I hear myself say as the painting or sculpture begins to get more refined, more itself.  Then, a bit more distinctly, the piece  implores…”No, no … look closer, here”  or… “Wait, wait!  Look over there! I need something here… something yellow or dark or warm or cool, less material or more”   And whatever it is, if I listen, it is always exactly what is needed. 

So, this is the “About” me in my studio.  There is so much in my life that has brought me to this point… art schooling, collegiate and professional athletics, life adventures, incredible life and art mentors and teachers…years and years of struggle and glory and frustration and deep satisfaction.  But the process of this dance with the Creative Muse is all that I am really about. It is my connection to something so much deeper than the mere surface of life.  It is the simplicity and magic of its own heartbeat…and therefore to ours.