My Story took a curious path. Here are some fun facts you might enjoy.
I used to enjoy painting old houses in high school. I adored the shingles and decorative arches on the uninhabited Victorian homes. It was also intriguing that such beautiful homes were left unattended. There's a story there somewhere.
One of my paintings was entered in an insurance company's calendar contest. I was a winner ($500 cash prize although not top prize). They also purchased pieces of art to encourage artists. The artwork was used on a calendar that was distributed to customers, and the actual paintings were used to decorate their Chicago offices.
They also flew my mother and me to Chicago, took us to dinner on the top floor of a high-rise building, and put us up for the night in a posh hotel before flying us home. WOW, what a collection of firsts for me. I could have flown home instead of taking the plane.
Freelance work was one way I made money in high school. I was hired by a company to create artwork that was silkscreened onto slate which was then sold in gift stores.
I also had a part time gig at our big industry in town, a bubble gum factory. There I worked in marketing doing things like creating labels for shipping boxes as well as cards for the inside of bubble gum machines. Sometimes I worked on sales sheets.
When my boss returned from vacation, he smiled as he walked into my office. He was carrying a box. We both burst out laughing when we saw it. He was a sailboat enthusiast who had traveled west for a vacation to see friends. They wanted him to have something made by a local artist to commemorate his visit. They had bought one of the slates with my artwork for him. He acknowledged that I was a local artist, but only to him. I worked in a closet behind his office.
Prior to painting, I had the good fortune to work for two magicians who became very well known in their field. Was I sawed in half? Did I vanish beneath a sheet? Hardly!
My boss at my first 'real' job went on to become one of the top mentalist magicians and is now in the magicians' hall of fame. In the beginning, he would come into my 'office,' and others would gather. Then he'd do a slight of hand trick and leave us scratching our heads, trying to figure out how he did it.
What a fantastically inventive way to wake up one's mind. And, despite the fact that it was done right in front of our eyes, we rarely guessed how it was done.
I am a patent inventor. Over time, I established and grew a creative agency that provided branding, package design, and sales materials to a wide range of business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) clients. Working with top marketers and product managers from major corporations was a thrill. I realized the importance of strategy and ideas. I created a sales system for matching products needed for various component installations while working with one of my clients. Isn't that awesome? I devised a 'Apparatus for matching related consumer electronic products'.
Animals play an important role in my life. I find something enlightening about fur and their unconditional love. Although special precautions are taken to ensure that fur does not end up in the varnish, the studio would be incomplete without critters, so I am content to have them everywhere. Throughout history, there have been various dogs, cats, and llamas. (I'm guessing you weren't expecting the llamas? And, as you might expect, they are outside the studio rather than inside.)
It took me some time to realize how the things that were important to me were always present and eager to participate in my life. Texture, hard work, magic, ideas, and fur all contribute to my creative process in some way. My parents deserve enormous credit and eternal gratitude for instilling in me the belief that I could do and achieve whatever I set my mind to. They were always encouraging and supportive, even when I didn't always believe in myself. I hope you enjoy the artwork on this website.
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