Art for me is an intuitive relationship with experience and surroundings. I write and draw about day to day exchanges. Art is a response partially informed by events and partially a response I do not understand—it unravels as it happens. The language of the everyday world, social complexity, beauty, color, and texture influence me. Expression is the core of what I consider important as an artist and art teacher. The shape of expression, be it a painting, poem, or sunlight in the morning inspires my thought process.
As a community college instructor my approach is artist-centered—that in culture the role of the artist is unique and specific. I work to create an atmosphere where people engage in the experience of art whether they seek a career in art, or, wish to participate in the stimulating aspects of making art and/or considering the broad implications of an art-informed society.
Drawing and painting are the root of my artistic exploration and of my teaching experience. The art history courses that I teach are surveys of art. I rely on scholars to help me build the framework for students. I am a generalist with an approach of recognizing the artist, the inspired hand and vision of works. My specialty is communicating the dialogue of art as a component of visual culture. I believe art in community colleges should be independent, encouraged holistically, and available as a resource for upcoming generations of learners.
In college I branched out with conceptual opportunities and three dimensional study.
I worked in New York in the 1980s—-as an artist, a gallery preparator, as an artist’s assistant, fabricator, at some museums, and with skills in architectural woodworking. I built a film set representing an apartment in NYC.
Master of Fine Arts, Hunter College of the City University of New York, 1983——-Bachelor of Fine Arts, San Jose State University, 1981
