My formative years were greatly influenced by the geography I inhabited during the 1950s - 60's; that is, eastern Wisconsin to Chicago. My then deep involvements in music, drawing, dance, and other sports all served as sources of inspiration to express my own physical and rhythmic energy along with my perceptions of the natural world. These environments and activities continue to influence my visual work holistically, along with living in a more urban environment since 1974.
My formal education includes Goddard College in Vermont, the U of MN, and St. Catherine University. I spent years as a self-employed studio artist while also active in various artist cooperatives (Artist’s Equity, WARM, and WAVE); a partner in a commercial interior design company (IMAGINATION); a designer/ creator of theater sets for a children’s acting group; and general instructor in art centers and public schools in and around the Twin Cities, as well as for specific artist residencies.
2013 was my last year teaching elementary art full-time - returning to teaching drawing to adults on a community ed level. I continue to accept commissions and work on my own studio themes. These are “Environmental Elements - Earth, Sky, Water, & Natural Remnants” - sometimes with symbolic references of human presence; and, “Landscape as Experienced” - a broader interpretation of the notion of “Landscape”.
My full resume is available for download (Adobe PDF format).
Artist’s Statement
I have a keen affinity to large bodies of fresh water and the immediate natural source material one finds along them. I am particularly drawn to Lake Michigan, which I literally grew up next to, smaller inland lakes one finds in Wisconsin and Minnesota; but also to Lake Superior with its shoreline sticks and stones, and the Boundary Waters nearby. The perpetually changing surface patterns of lake water fascinates me visually - reflective of our ever-changing world. The fresh water bodies themselves serve as symbols for all life and as a higher healing power. I feel a strong connection between our biological, psychological, and spiritual selves to that of our surrounding environment. Whether I am expressing my perceptions of this shared world literally or symbolically, both involve a shared energy - a source of energy that is both of my own physical being and a portion of some shared life force. My visual interpretations can easily run the entire spectrum of hyper "realism" on one end to elemental symbolic "abstractions" of form, movement, and rhythmic energy on the other. Although I work in a wide range of media, often mixed and multidimensional, I am primarily a drawer and painter.