My wild scions, take wing!
Engage and captivate; haunt the mind’s eye, strike the hearts,
Nest in high places.
Art is mysterious. I don’t mean the decorative thing; where an interior designer picks color coordinated wall hangings and furniture. I mean what happens sometimes to the client of the interior designer; when one of these randomly collected articles pops out of the scheme, inexplicably connects with something meaningful inside that person, brings up emotions and a sense of expansion.
Sometimes the viewer understands the art piece the same as I do, but more often the viewer brings their own meaning to the art piece. In either case, that connection between the art piece and the observer is transcendent. The seed of transcendence is what I aim for in everything I create. I get there with a lot of revisions. I usually feel done when I step back and say to myself, “I can think of no way in which to improve this further.” I sense there is a strange little plateau upon which an idea achieves clarity and aliveness just before it becomes overworked.
As a painter, I am an experimentalist. I move forward with an intention, but I allow lots of room for the medium to speak to me and pull me in unintended directions. It has been awhile since I painted. But I have been gathering ideas for new series of work. When I take to the canvas again, I will bring to it more meaning than I could conceive of when I was younger.
As a photographer, I have discovered that everything has a personality, and a good photograph is one that manages to capture that inherent personality. Creating a final image is just as big a job as taking a good photo. I enjoy starting from scratch every time I make a print, bringing to my subject all the skills I have honed since the last time I brought the image to life. My next step will be to explore abstraction as a way in which to add meaning and intrigue to my subjects.
As a writer, I have honed my skills in business; creating all the sales and marketing materials for two different businesses. I have directed the creation of and provided content for three websites and four trade show displays. I have also written a wide variety of back office materials including legalese, instruction manuals, contracts, proposals, reports and presentations.
Exhibits
7/06 Photos, Koffee Krazy, Portland, Oregon
10/05 Photos of India, Café Vivace, Portland, Oregon
8/04 B&W Abstract Farm Equipment Photos, P/M Industries, Beaverton, Oregon
6/04 B&W Abstract Photos, WSU, Vancouver, Washington
11/03 Western Landscape Photos, Wind Horse Café, Milwaukie, Oregon
9/03 Protest Photos, Cafe Nola, Portland, Oregon
6/90-8/92 Watercolors, NW by NW Gallery, Cannon Beach, Oregon
8/13/90 Watercolors, Soiree d’Art, Alber’s Mill, Portland, Oregon
7/90 Watercolors, Mayor’s Office, City of Beaverton, Oregon, via Beaverton Arts Commission
3,4/90 Watercolors, Thayer’s Office Supply, Beaverton, Oregon, via Beaverton Arts Commission
1/90 Watercolors, Pine Street Chiropractic, Portland, Oregon
12/89 Watercolors, Morrison Street Gallery, Portland, Oregon
8/89 Watercolors Private showing by the request of Michael Keeline, Portland, Oregon
6,7/89 Watercolors, Saturday Market, Portland, Oregon
Skills:
Art: watercolors, marbling, paper making, photography
Computer: Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, Pagemaker, MS Office Suite, ACT
Marketing: promotional literature, trade show displays, website development, product development
Business: project management, organization, computer administration, purchasing, costing, hiring
Education
B.S. Journalism (advertising, photojournalism), University of Oregon, 1984
Graphic Design, Lane Community College, Eugene, 1984
Basic Media and Design Skills, Oregon State University, 1981