The Most Powerful Art I Have Ever Made

I am often asked which of my pieces are my favorites. Of course, it would be easy to pick out a few that reflect important milestones in my personal or professional lives. It would be easy to choose one or two that just have the right combination of subject matter and visual appeal that transcends my personal considerations of intellectual weight and aesthetic beauty and reaches toward the universal. Yet, the works I find the most powerful, most rewarding, and most successful are those that I have helped orchestrate for my son’s primary school classes.

As the Art Literacy Lead for Raiden’s classes during the last three years, I have had the great fortune of experiencing the joys of unbridled exploration and discovery. I see the passion for playfulness and creativity that is inherent in these young minds that later, as adults, we take for granted and even extinguish. I have seen where my path has strayed from the making of ‘pure’ art, where expression is void of commercialization, ego, or context. I have learned so much from these brief interactions with the students, and it is my hope that these insights find their way into new works.

So, please let me share with you a work created by Ms. Winiarski’s 2nd/3rd grade class of 2019.

Mandala

Mixed-media on paper and wood

48” x 48”

2019

Jim Goode

     I would hope that most people have a Jim Goode in their lives.  The man has been my best friend since we were pimple-faced teenagers(I having more than he).  The man has always been a ready-to-help jack-of-all-trades and faithful partner in adventures in the mindscape and the landscape.  He is my brother-from-another-mother.

     While creating this website and working on the vector drawing of my logo, I was reminded of Jim's great devotion to the endeavors of my personal creative journey.  The man designed websites, marketing brochures, and countless postcard invitations for the various exhibitions I hosted in Limbo.  Although Limbo was my baby, Jim was the ever-doting uncle. Limbo. would not have been possible without Jim Goode.

     So, as I tinker away on the computer, building my website and learning vector drawing by trial and error, I realize just how much talent Jim Goode holds in his head.  He was designing everything from scratch.  I benefit from design templates and video how-tos and customer support chats.  I really have it easy.

     And, although I am very excited to be more self-reliant with all these new tools at my fingertips, I will never forget the many long hours that Jim put in to help me create a truly memorable gallery experience for thousands of like-minded followers of the plastic arts.

Thank you, Brother!

Renaissance

I now emerge from my chrysalis, a home created for metamorphosis. It protected me from a past from which I needed to escape and future I feared.  The chrysalis held firm and impenetrable for 30 years of my life.  I recently cracked it open because it was time-my time.  I'm ready to face my future and engage all of humanity.  I'll let you know how it all goes.