My substantial interest in art began at 4 years old. Aunt Ethel would take me to the New York Botanical Gardens to see landscapes, exotic greenhouse specimens, and the Bronx River. We studied the view and specific details, capturing them in our mind’s eye. Later we’d sketch that day's explorations from memory.
Ethel was also a poet, frequenting NY's Greenwich Village coffeehouses when they were filled with “creative types,” as my father called them. Her sketches often included a haiku or poetic phrase. I found her to be a great source of liberation and contrast from my more conventional family.
For five years, I co-lead a talk group for people dying of AIDS. Every week I confronted their approaching death with the question: How can we, or do we, live each of the limited moments assigned to us? I currently live in Mexico where death as well as the joys and struggles of daily life are acutely visible on the street, in the local art, song and music.
If I were to sum up my art and my life, I would suggest the phrase: embracing the entirety, both joy and disappointment can lead you to richer outcome.
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As a recipient of over 50 awards in my professional career in graphic design and art direction for corporations and nonprofit organizations, I am most proud of my 20 years’ work for UNICEF and other organizations advancing child welfare. Spanning 40 years, I was fortunate to design for renowned music, dance and theatre-arts innovators.
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