A life lived on 8 1/2 x 11

Lake Logan, NC

The world isn't made up of atoms. It's made up of stories. 

                                                   Muriel Rukeyser; poet & activist

I will be exhibiting several pieces of my art during the month of November at 4 Art Inc Gallery in Chicago. Robin Rios, the gallery owner, asked for a bio. Putting 63 plus years on one page was a challenge. 

Here is the "haiku" of my life:

My mother tells the story: when I was three, she took me to her office and had me sit at an empty desk across from the receptionist. One of her friends decided to “call me” from another office. I picked up the phone  and she asked, “What are you doing?” and I answered in my three- year -old universe, “I’m drawing, see!” as I held the sheet of paper up to the receiver.

So my journey into art began. I have always had a love of paper, pencils and paint.  I doodled and drew my way into adolescence and young adulthood. In 1986 I stopped. No reason in particular except life was getting more complicated and hectic.

Then in 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was the Universe telling me, “It’s time to get back into the passion of your life.” I re-entered art with a fury.

I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, because I’m not the first to say it; still, cancer was one of the best things that happened to me. It brought me back to art.

Each day I gratefully look forward to pushing the boundaries of that passion, with paper, pencils and paint.

Important Dates:

1951: Born, Wiesbaden, Germany

1966: Naturalized citizen, Chicago, IL

1969: Married

1971: Gave birth to my son

1986: Divorced

1989: Married my soul mate, best friend, and most ardent art critic

2007: Cancer diagnosis

2012: Cancer free

2014: Living in Burr Ridge

Art Studies:

Independent study with Laura Lein-Svencner, Cheryl Holz, Lisa Cyr, Rebecca Crowell, Catherine Chang Liu, Audrey Phillips, Krista Harris and many other mentors.

Influences:

Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Franz Kline, Richard Diebenkorn, Clyfford Still, Will Barnet, my contemporaries and all the artists, poets and writers before them; I stand on their shoulders and continue to learn.