Creative Discovery

Successful scholarship is frequently defined by discovery. In the sciences it might be the discovery of new chemical reactions, therapies, or parasites. In the behavioral sciences it might be the discovery of connections between behavioral outcomes and the environment. In the fine arts it is the discovery of a new way to express ideas visually. The language of art is comprised of a wide array of signs. These signs can be images, marks, or even words. It is the goal of most artists to construe a way to combine the aspects of visual language into a new form, the “undiscovered country”. Creating “the new” is not easy. Humans have been making marks and sculptures since before there was written language. Artists have been realists, expressionists, abstractionists, and conceptualists in every imaginable combination of media. Confronting the monumental task of adding a fresh body of work to the encyclopedia of art is a daunting and seemingly impossible task. In my work, I stumbled on “the new” by focusing on being true to myself. Instead of focusing on the “undiscovered country”, I concentrated on creating work that was true to my nature and nurture. I craft works that are formally in harmony with my mid-Western experience and intellectually driven by my interest in history and culture. In the process of making work that expressed my own unique life experience and interest, I created a signature style that is recognized nationally and internationally.