"I create art to answer questions about my life. I share my work to connect with others. Art is essential for understanding the world and society.”
A path to a meaningful life,
many of us desire that. But how do we know what path that is and if we are even on it? We are all born with innate skills and deep desires to follow our truth. I believe that.
What is your calling? For me it has been a creative path, making art and performing art through dance. This path, however meaningful and fulfilling, can be a very murky path. There are just a few times I have questioned my choice. Ultimately, I choose to forge ahead with this desire to create and call myself an artist.
My family has been a great influence on me
English was neither of my grandparents first language. One pair spoke Portuguese and the other Italian. One very strong trait within my family has been their ability to make things. For my Dad it was woodworking and a life in road construction. For my siblings it has been building guitars, remodeling homes, or rebuilding car engines. My mother cooks, gardens, and sews. We are confident do-it-yourselfers.
The downside to this great skill is not knowing when you should stop trying to do it all yourself. It's ok to ask for help, not from a book or YouTube video, but from a person. To be a great artist, a great anything, one must learn to use the greatest and most generous resource, other people. My art means a lot to me, but it means so much more if it can influence and inspire another person as well.
Create
We all have something unique to offer to society. I like to make connections, similar to finding pieces of a puzzle, that might uncover some truths about us stubborn and emotional beings. My puzzle includes a family with my husband, and two teenage girls, living in a digital age with a shared love of outdoor adventure and travel.
My paintings form a picture that I hope shows how we might improve the parts that feel broken or disconnected.
This feels like my path, and I hope in some way my work helps you to find your path.