Art is an integral part of my life. Whether I’m teaching how to create it, teaching the history of art, or creating myself, it is intertwined in my daily life. I cannot live without creating art. Whenever I don’t create for lengths of time I get antsy and insist I focus on creating something. Sometimes an idea pops in my head and I can’t rest until I get it out of me, either by creating it completely or in a sketch.
My two favorite art mediums are sculpture and painting/drawing. There are different motivations for the creation of my sculpture compared to my painting. My sculptural pieces focus on my life’s experiences while my painting focuses on color, space, and subject matter. It is very difficult for me to explain my feelings and motivation behind my sculpture because they are so personal. As for my paintings, they are purely entertainment to the eye. Lately, I have been experimenting with combining my sculpture and painting. My sculpture has the illusion of being a painting at first glance but once you examine it further you see the deception.
I want viewers to be engaged with my work. Not just emotionally, intellectually, and visually, but physically. My focus lately has been on the viewer’s physical interaction with art. Not just necessarily my art. This has come about because I like to experience things through touch. Visual art is usually very observational. I’d like to get people away from just being a voyeur and get them involved. I want people to feel like they had a hand in creating my art. Maybe bring them to the state of feeling like they are a kid again.
My one true goal and focus is to continue to teach others to appreciate art for what it is and not to be fearful of it because of the stigma so many have put on it as an elitists realm. Art is for everyone. As I continue to grow artistically I want to grow intrinsically as well. It is important for an artist to grow and their art to grow with them. We are continual learners in life. When we stop learning I feel our purpose as humans has ended. I plan on continuing to work with color not just in painting but in my sculpture as well. I will also keep in the back of my mind those triumphal women artists that have come and gone to help me stay motivated and never lose hope.
