How long have you been creating?

I have been creating since I can remember, so decades. My mother always made sure I had a bag of books, paper, pencils and crayons wherever we went when I was a small child. Creating, drawing, painting, writing, building, arts and crafts was a big part of my youth.

I focused on art and writing in elementary, middle and high school. I was a professional color and black & white photo printer and studio photographer after high school, used one of the very first graphics computers “back in the day” as a graphic designer and then transitioned to film and video production.

Today I create full time for me and to make a living and not under the direction of others. I have never been happier. Although challenging in many ways, being my own “boss” has really helped me expand and grow.

What is your media of choice?

Right now I create with game pieces, found objects, beads, wire and metal. I recycle, repurpose, reuse and upcycle.

What are you motivations for creating?

I find that most of my creative process is driven by my materials. I generally keep my materials in view and I gain inspiration from the form and colors as well as interesting combinations.

Participating here at EBSQ has really challenged me to push beyond my comfort zone and has also helped me focus on particular themes in a more disciplined manner.

What other artists or movements inform your work?

I spent hours in the Art Institute of Chicago growing up. I have seen an amazing collection of art and artists as well as special exhibitions over the years. I have a wide range of inspiration including Picasso’s assemblages and sculptures, O’Keeffe, Magritte, Chagall, Frank Lloyd Wright, Lichtenstein and the wonderful collections of ethnic art from Asia and Africa. Now I am particularly interested in American Folk and Outsider Art.

What do you find visually stimulating right now?

I now live in the Southwest and the landscape is visually challenging year ‘round. The light at higher elevations is very intense and the shadows on adobe construction is mysterious and inspiring. The landscape is very different from what I grew up with and I find the scrubby, austere desert very beautiful. There are areas of lush vegetation near water and in the forests, but I still find that I am drawn to the desert if given the choice.

Read anything good lately?

I used to read books voraciously, however, now I do most of my reading online in the area of politics.

Tell us about some of your artistic goals for 2007.

In 2007 I will continue to focus on expanding the materials I use and shake up my style. I have been doing more and more metal work and that will also be a big part of the rest of this year and next. I am also rediscovering photography in the digital age. Digital is wonderful, accessible, clean and immediate, yet I still miss the hands on processing and printing of days gone by.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?*

I like a challenge.