What am I supposed to say?

About the Artist

Some of us are visual learners, and for those who are not, it is valuable to learn how the visual brain works. Just putting together a piece of furniture can be challenging if the diagrams don't make sense. I think everyone should have a working knowledge of how our perception is manipulated by visual media as well as how to deconstruct one's own perception and put an idea or image down on paper. That is the idea behind my class "Drawing for Everyone", offered through Santa Clarita Parks & Rec. Composition, line, shape, and texture are used to lead our eyes, sometimes to fool them, into the perception or suggestion of three dimensions when we know we are looking at a flat, two dimensional, portrayal of an object, scene or infographic. Drawing is a way of life. For me, it is how I investigate any subject. Algebra did not make sense until an equation described a parabolic curve. History came alive when I crafted and costumed a paper machè centurion. Science was fun when I illustrated dissections, charted results, diagramed molecules. Language was more colorful as calligraphy. Connections between countries were made plain as alphabets changed. This is what is missing from schools when art and music are cut from curricula. I want to give back to our community what was provided to me when I was young. My background started with my parents, who were both artists. I drew, painted, cut and pasted, learned to sew, to bake, to use power tools in spite of being denied admission to shop class in high school. I applied to colleges and was accepted at all of them, but chose Washington University in St. Louis for the abundant culture in the area and the great academic reputation. I grew to love painting, figure drawing and metal smithing, but at graduation I was not ready to go out and teach. I wanted to work, so I learned graphic design on the job. Supplemented with photography classes and workshops, I worked for ten years. I finally got an MFA in Graphics at Boston University, when I was living in the area. After a few years off for putting all my education to work raising three kids, I went back to school. To continue my graphic design I had to learn all the computer programs and working methods. It was like being given a magic wand to resize type, photos, illustrations and compose a page on screen. Computer graphics was amazing fun for the next ten or so years. I still like computer graphic illustration and production, but returning to fine art is personally more rewarding. I hope to devote more time and energy to painting and teaching in Santa Clarita or wherever I find myself traveling in the next few years. I will be offering a workshop in the fall on making polymer clay angels. It will be open to all ages, in two sections, with a weekday evening and a weekend option.