The Early Years
Born in Huntsville, Alabama in 1963. Spent my formative years in suburban middle class chaos. Between my father's job relocations and family turmoil, I ended up also living in Buffalo-NY, Palos Verdes-CA, Lancaster-CA, Fort Walton Beach-FL, Chesterfield-MO, Ft Lauderdale-FL, Gainesville-FL (University of FL). By the time I graduated high school I had attended 11 different schools. It would be safe to say I didn't grow up with a lot of stability or roots to any specific location. The benefits and challenges of this upbringing have become a large part of who I am today.
The one thing in the midst of all the instability was my constant appreciation for making art. During my youngest years, I seemed to have some talent that others recognized as somehow special. This was like tonic for me. Not only did it feel great to the accolades but it also facilitated me getting acquainted with my best unwavering constant companion....my work. It was my ally in the best and worst of times. To this day it continues to provide me with fulfillment, purpose, and unwavering wonder. There have been times that I have wondered away for some time but I know it's always there like a life-long friend where you pick things back up as if no time has passed.
After spending a good portion of my undergraduate degree concentrating on pre-med, I took the leap of faith and decided to dedicate my efforts to what I do best. Consequently I ended up with a BFA in painting from the University of Florida in 1986 with high honors.
I actually began my art training at the age of eleven when I was mistakenly enrolled in a life drawing class with a fully nude model. They let me stay in the class. Needless to say it was surprising at the beginning but turned out to be one of the most valuable classes of my life. I got a very early start in drawing a live model and was being taught to "see" form rather than represent images from memory. It was a game changer for my work and I use what I learned there even to this day and provided the foundation for my figurative work in painting.
In the early 1990's I became fascinated with ceramics. I enjoyed the tactility of the medium and the 3 dimensionality. I had some experience with clay during my undergraduate work but I took it to a new evel with becoming proficient with throwing large scale vases and bowls. The vases I manipulated and fired in a process called "Raku" which is an oxidation/reduction firing technique. The low flat large bowls I used as canvases to draw figurative images. I sold these nationally through an art rep in downtown Los
Angeles.
