from the artist
I had a tree buddy in Riverside Park in New York - a role model, a tree of life of sorts. Broken, bent, and blown sideways it continued to bloom and thrive year after year. While that tree is now gone, I hope to continue its legacy throughout my lifetime.
‘On the Wall’ I am: An Artist. Educator. Designer. Architect.
The namesake of my children’s school long ago, Abraham Joshua Heschel, wrote: “You must build your life as if it were a work of art.” I have come to see that I build my art the way I built my life. A life once handed to me in shards and fragments in a haphazard framework with uncertainty as to whether any of the detritus was worth keeping. Left to figure out a puzzle of pieces in order to form a new whole that made sense and lent beauty to the brokenness, I inadvertently arrived at methods of repair and rededication akin to the Japanese concept of ‘Kintsugi’ - in which cracks and fissures are celebrated by the application of gold. I have come to see the joy born of darkness and brokenness as integral parts of true and deep beauty through Art. Art makes my world a bearable place, it helps me find joy in the little things - easily overlooked, disregarded, left behind or thrown away. The seemingly worthless becomes worth keeping and challenges our perception of beauty as perfection.
‘Off the Wall’ I am : a Maker Of Things. Teacher Of Things. Experimenter. Explorer. Discoverer. Tinkerer. Problem Solver. Horizon Expander. Sharer. Permission Giver. Despite and because of all of the above I am : Playful. Colorful. Wondrous. Curious. Inventive. Creative. Ever excited about process. The little things. Happy accidents. Surprises and new ways to see. Join the Joy of the Journey. It is the Destination. The power of art to heal one’s world is what drives me to make art and share my findings.