I began life quite some time ago, in fact more than 80 years ago – the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, specifically December 8, 1941. Things were quite different then. However, my love of art and books (I am a confirmed bibliophile and a committed popular culture buff) has been a lifelong pursuit. It may have begun with comic books. I was/still am a comic book reader and collector, almost since and once I could read. I suspect graphic art has had a significant influence on my pursuit of visual art. I have lived my entire life thus far in the Windsor/LaSalle region, am widowed with four sons, five beautiful grandchildren and an orange tabby cat named Boots.
I am a retired teacher of the visual arts, science and mathematics, having taught in elementary and secondary schools in Windsor and Sandwich West for 41 years including the private school Academie St. Cecile International School. I have mounted an exhibition of early works at the popular Windsor pub, The Phogg, in 2003: and along with the late fellow poet, Joe Patterson, exhibited in 2008 eighteen works called INSPIRATION: POETRY IN PAINT, interpreting Joe’s exquisite poetry. I have rendered several murals in schools and churches in and around Essex County. I am a published author of two books, one of poetry, ZAPPED BY DESIGN, ZITHERED BY WIT accompanied by 60 of my own illustrations; the second, an all-ages novel, THE MYSTERY OF THE CLOCK; as well as editing an anthology, JOURNEY, of fine poetry by members of The Live Poets Society of Windsor and Essex County. I am a short-story contest winner for a cross-border magazine, THE ARTISAN’S WELL, a fine art and literary publication.
This cursed pandemic we’ve all had to endure has cajoled, urged and motivated me to avoid insanity in the cloister of my home by finding visual expression in some 35 works of art including 3-dimensional structures and sculptures. Thanks Covid! I’m living a tethered dream. Thankfully, I have never experienced ‘artist’s block’ – far too many inspirations and stimulants. Part of that dream is enthusiastically becoming a member of the Art Society of Kingsville, recommended by a fellow artist/member. I will have the pleasure of exhibiting at the Carnegie Arts & Visitors Centre next (2023) June 21 through July 9.
This solo show, “Searching: Avoiding Insanity” here at the Carnegie Arts & Visitors Centre in Kingsville, ON (2023 06 21- 07 09) is an exhibition of a diverse collection of 40 works, personal visual expressions of grieving, environmental appreciation and societal insights.
THANK YOU FOR READING MY STORY AND VIEWING MY ART
HAVE A GREAT DAY!
I believe that the passion to express myself and to keep a dedicated preoccupation during times of grief have truly kept me sane. As an artist, and as a poet, I recognized sanity and/or its opposite, insanity, as a region of shadows, a forgotten cul-de-sac where imagination meets oblivion at the intersection of science and ignorance. The danger, of course, is to give in, to lapse into the extreme folly of it all. Imagination is the prime ingredient in all art; stilted imagination produces ‘no good art’.
