In an effort to eliminate obstacles to my artmaking, I needed to find a studio space. “If you really want to make art a part of your life, you can find a space for it. Don’t wait to find the ideal space. Just find a spot and claim it and make art.” (Amy Maricle)
Making art at home wasn’t an option because of our one-year old son. He gets into everything because he’s curious. Art supplies and wet paint weren’t a good match for him. I didn’t want to constantly be telling him “No!”
I am an art professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. I teach the studio drawing and painting classes and so I teach in a large studio classroom. Space, lighting, storage, sinks for clean-up, drying racks, and framing equipment are provided in the classroom studio. These are all the elements that are important in an art studio. So, I decided to set aside an area for my studio in my classroom. Having a designated area to work, even if it is just a few days and week for a short time, is important in order to remain productive. I seldom work on my art during classes, but there I get to see the artwork daily even when I’m not working on it. It gives me time to think about and problem solve my current artwork.
I think it is important that students are aware that their teacher is a working artist. It lets them know that I don’t just instruct but that I am an active artist. I enter both national and international exhibits every month and have won prizes for my work.
I get new inspiration when I visit art museums with my students. Wichita has very active art galleries and a First Friday event when the galleries have open houses and gallery shows. Much of my work is autobiographical, incorporating family history and memories. I often find content in my immediate surroundings. The act of watching human activity blends into my art making as I try to capture the relationships between the humans in my life.
I work from photographs I have taken of the people and places in my life. I use photographs from family gatherings and personal collections of images for my compositions. I explore the human experience in my work.
My art style ranges from Realism to Impressionism. I attempt to portray the lives of ordinary people in their environment with an emphasis on the emotional aspects of the scene.