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The Full Story
This project is a personal history of the the influences that have directed me to a life of art and art education. -
In the Beginning
My parents brought me to the the New York Worlds Fair when I was an infant. I like to think of this as the beginning of my awareness of the amazing world of culture and ideas and thank my forward -thinking parents for opening this world to me. When I look at images of this event, the style and design of this period has been attractive if not influential to me my entire life. -
Design Sensibility and Innovation
I am obssessed with the monorail, depicted here at the New York Worlds Fair. Disney, the Worlds Fair, why not connect our cities and towns with this mode of transportation? As an educator, I would strive to open the world of innovation and possibility for my students. -
The Seashore
From earliest memory I spent many hours exploring the shore. My mother had to rescue me from crawling into the sea at nine months of age. Amongst the coral and cocina rock formations, and in tidal pools,I would explore the natural world and make many discoveries, solidifying a life long love of all things nature. -
The Eye Opener
In my early life I had the good fortune to experience The New York Museum of Natural History. This exposure really sparked my imagination. Particularly the dioramas with early man and people of other cultures. It felt like all the inhabitants of the museum were alive. It was both fascinating and frightening, a definite eye opener that cast a spell of wonder that would remain with me all my days. -
Holy Moly! Here lies beauty!
Luray Caverns in Virginia was a majical wonderland to my young eyes. My parents ,curious creatures themselves, were driven to explore and show the interesting side of life to me and my siblings. It was a mind boggling experience that engaged my imagination at the highest caliber. -
Caverns in Mind
I had to add another image for your viewing pleasure. -
Influential and Inspirational
Being the youngest of my siblings I had the advantage of learning from them and their many talents. From my brother a self taught musician, the gift of music, from my sister the gift of innovative and creative thought. My sister was building teepees from native flora and harvesting edible native plants in Highschool as well as weaving from natural fibers and digging pits in the yard to fire clay pots with cow dung. Creativity courses through every vein in their bodies. -
Thanks Mom
My mother, a creative forward thinking individual as well as educator, had me making soap sculptures, carving bars of soap and making potato stamp designs when I was a youngster. She tested her theories and project ideas on me when she was in college as well as shared the great family gift of singing and whistling... passing on tunes that were sung to her by her kindergarten teacher in the early 40's. A strong Froebelian influence existed in her early education as well as mine. -
Across the Nation We Go!
Following a long family tradition, my parents would take us "Out West". From Florida we would drive and campon our way to our relatives in North Eastern Montana and North Dakota. My favorite state became, South Dakota. This is Badlands National Park surrounded by the Lakotah Nation. -
Crazy Horse Monument
My father took us to reservations so we may better know our American History. We visited Mount Rushmore, placed in the sacred Black Hills. We then visited sculptor , Korczak Ziolkowski home, then a museum of the Crazy Horse Monument. This was very influential. Classical Busts of the Native Chiefs lined the driveway. They were disfigured by shotgun blasts... His home contained the model of the mountain sized sculpture that is still under construction, 40 years later.... -
Concrete Education
I took art in high school as well as metal arts, which was mostly hammering copper. What was most influential was my concrete mixing class (yes, it's true) . I learned to use molds and make large concrete objects.... in retrospect, that educational experience tied into the love of sculpture that I discovered later in college. To this day I love concrete. Beautiful architectural detail is created with it and many, many , fine monumental sculptures. Thank you ancient Rome! -
Off To College
This chapter in my life would lead me from art to architecture back to art. I had exceptional art instruction in Community College before I entered University. I had drawing classes that I think back on to this day. Studyinng the figure began early on with blind contour and perspective as applied to the figure... having live models at an early age was very helpful in learning complex ideas. I am very thankful that I had a classical foundation that was very disciplined and difficult. -
Architecture!
I studied architecture for a year but lacked the maturity and confidence to stay with the program. During this year I had the best Architecture History and Building Arts instructors who brought these subjects alive.This is how I would want to teach. I remember the lectures vividly . This opened the world to me, and to this day I feel, that architecture is a true love, and study and critique it for my own pleasure and interest. -
Reading, a Blur....
During this period of intense development as an individual and college student, my reading was geared toward school. I do remember the book, The Shock of the New as being very entertaining ... and I loved the design/culture magazine FMR (Franco Maria Ricci) where I first learned about the artist Tamara De Limpica, the very glamourous epitomy of Deco, portrait painter. I fashioned myself after her paintings and was somewhat influenced in my own work by her distinct syle. I loved everything Deco. -
Movin' On Up!
In January of 1987 I moved to Atlanta, Georgia to finish my undergraduate degree at The Atlanta College of Art. This would further open my mind to City life and to the world of "High Art". My peers work was conceptual, and political where as I worked from an intuitive inner source, primarily with the figure and learned a tremendous ammount from this other perspective. This was the heyday of big art,and big art marketing... -
Off to Europe
In 1990 after graduating college, I headed out for a grand tour of Europe.This was an art history tour in search of particular works of art. I visted Vicenza, Italy for Palladio's architecture, the famed Villa Rotunda and his opera theater, then off to Ravenna for the early christian mozaics... over to Colmar ,France in search of the Isenheim Altar piece by Grunewald and Avignon where the Papacy relocated for some time and where beautiful Frescos can be found... my education was just beginning! -
Studio Life
At this time I began the journey of parenthood and struggled to balance family and work life. I worked in an old matress factory (my studio) that was as rough as they come. This period would begin my route toward art education as I was introduced to Waldorf education and DBAE in my daughters kinder garten and elementary school. Both would prove inspiring. -
Moving On
In July of 2000 I moved to Florida where I discover ed the Arts In Medicine program. Having volunteered in my childrens classrooms for years, I would continue that tradition while becoming involved in arts and health projects and other community based projects. -
Community work
I began working in Apalachicola, Florida with the Arts and Medicine Team. our focus is on improving the lives of the local seafood industry workers and their families through nutrition education, healthcare screenings and referrals. Theater, dance, art. and oral histories are a major component of this initiative. I created murals for the community, celebrating their unique culture and way of life as well as a kids coloring cookbook. that is distributed to school children. -
Community Work Africa
I continued my community work with the Arts and Medicine program in Rwanda. I worked with a local art teacher and the children of a survivor village to create murals on homes in the village. I worked with local young people to create health message murals in various clinics. These projects are the greatest learning experience one can have for understanding community, culture and how lack of access to resources effects art education, general education, and craft culture traditions. -
Summer Studio
In July of 2010 I began the Masters Degree program with the school of Art Ed. I enrolled in a summer studio intensive that was highly inspiring. We worked tirelessly for two weeks, creating like mad. This was a an extraordinary experience of cooperative learning and working in the studio setting. -
Inspiration
The classes I would take would refresh the interests and passions I have long held while reinforcing my philosophies on learning and education. My life experiences have filled me with knowledge and inspiration, ceaseless curiosity and a sense of wonder that I hope to share with others. From the minute and mundane to the grand and dynamic, this is an extraordinary world to be living, learning, giving, understanding, adapting and cooperating in. -
Visions of Peace and Unity
While in Rwanda I participated in the Peace and Unity Project with children from the Rugereo Survivor Village. Here, we introduced the big idea and the children discussed with us what peace and unity means to them. They then created art work based on these ideas. We brought the art back to share with school children here. I worked with a group of 2nd graders to create their visions of peace and unity and the art is now on its way back to the children of Rugerero. -
Apalachicola Garden
I designed a childrens edible garden for a school in Apalachicola. This garden was based on Froebelian principles of symmetry, geometry and beauty. There is an art element to the garden as children created totems to watch over the garden. Every child in the k-8 school worked on the garden and the art was created in a completely cooperative way so that this became a community transformation within the school and a model for cooperation. -
Totems
working with the art teacher and students from pre-k through grade eight on the 1/2 hour was a reality check and a window into the world of the beleaguered educator. A solitary figure, this amazing teacher works with hundreds of children a day. Classes are a half hour long. After this project we determined that I would return on a regular basis to do special projects with her students. -
School Garden
The garden tranformed the school.
