Educational background.
Jr. high started it with art class with Doris Wilson.
She taught me how to use a jewelers saw and use silver solder and set stones in 8th grade. What a beginning. Then on to high school with Glenn Brougher. More than anything I remember his constant challenge of his own work. Master watercolorist who made and sold plenty of his western Pennsylvania landscapes or barns. Then out of nowhere he would make some crazy text based print or collage or he would sculpt some amazing creature out of clay. They both changed my world.
Then off to college at Tyler school of Art to study jewelry until I ran into the hot glass shop. I realized that more materials needed to be explored. Too many teachers to mention them all but Jon Clark/ glass, Ron Kline/ ceramics, Stan Whitney/ painting, John Dowell/ printmaking, Chuck Schmidt/ drawing…to name a few. For more than a few reasons I added a teaching certificate to my interdepartmental major.
About 12 years later... to maintain my teaching certificate I entered the graduate program at IUP under the direction of Dr. James Nestor. I only completed one year of that program but Nestor and the students there at that time still impact my work.
How do I approach my work.
I keep working. I have tried to maintain a regular presence in my studio. I keep looking for materials that interest me and I use the dialog with those materials to lead me to the work. Often current issues in my life/world will become part of the dialog. I also just keep making stuff. Most of the time I don't consider it to be terribly important, but as the years go by I realize that it is that unimportant stuff that has kept me in the studio that other hour that has lead to art work that I do think is important. (the stuff I am referring to is everything from carved spoons to brooms to games to …??)
Family.
Big numbers. I grew up with seven siblings.
Big stuff. They all do amazing things. Music, Business, Construction, Art.
My children and step children are just wonderful people. They are happy, hardworking people.